Nameless
by Elsa007
Summary: Early Season 1 AU. Did the 100 fandom need another pregnant Clarke, daddy!Bellamy fic? Probably not. Did I write one anyway? Absolutely! When I say 'M', I mean M, okay? There is plot. There is another four letter word that start with a 'p'. PwithP. I hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Apologies to my 100 fans who are waiting for the resolution of Revenge, but in regards to that story I am BLOCKED. I will do my best to get in there and finish that up soon. In the meantime...this one arose!**

 **As with many of my** **fics** **, I have formatted this in an alternating first person, style, the acting speaker annotated by the title preceding the segment. If this gets confusing for anyone, PLEASE let me know and I can work on how I dictate who is speaking. Thank you so much for reading this! PLEASE review and give me advice, feedback, and ideas! (Positive or negative - I relish the chance to grow in my writing!) xoxo – E**

* * *

 **Bellamy Blake**

Fishing, building huts, living off the Earth, _hunting_ , was there no end to the evidence that I had always been meant to live down here among the green and blue and happiness of nature? I loved the thrill of it all, the way that my survival didn't depend on how much money someone else decided to give me or the circumstances of my birth, but by how hard I worked and how I reacted to my surroundings and situations. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't also thrilled with the fact that down here, I could be friends or foe of anyone I chose, not whomever the Ark chose to surround me with. Without the 100's decent back to Earth, I probably never would have met half these kids. Okay most of them actually, because many of them would have been in jail until they were floated and the others were...well...Clark and Wells. And I wouldn't have met them either. I definitely would never have been in Clarke Griffin's path without this trip to Earth. I really didn't want to think about that. She was a know-it-all. She was ruining my plan to keep the Ark from following us down here. She was bossy. She was annoying. She was...exactly who I would have hoped to have by my side if I weren't on the run from the Ark. Half a year. The Ark was going to follow us in half a year. I needed to be established as leader down here before then, enough so that those who I needed to survive would follow me when I ran. Because I would have to run. The minute the council showed up they'd want me gone. There was a long, drawn out crackle in the air, it almost sounded like lightening, but given the clear sky above us it was safe to say I was wrong.

"Bellamy watch out!" Clarke's scream tore through my chest as I lurched towards her, caring less for what she said and more for the note of panic in her voice. She gripped me and pulled me towards her...just before I saw a streak of light behind me. Energy surged through the wire fence. It had been dead since we arrived, presumably longer than that, but we had no real way of knowing that. It had been an electric fence once upon a time, the sort that had kept out invading armies more than cattle. A true shock that could do some real damage. And it was live. All of a sudden, it was live. What the hell was that?! What had turned it on? The Mountain Men? But why now? This was never their territory line, they had no reason to stop us? It didn't seem to have much to do with us, anyway. Maybe something else was happening, somewhere else on the line. I screamed out as a sharp sting went through my ankle before the fence went dead again. At the exact moment the wires died down, the sound of electricity ceasing to exist, I heard Clarke's small cry of pain.

"Clarke?" I looked down her outstretched arm, the one that had reached forward to pull me back from the electric fence, the one which had grabbed onto the fence when I moved towards her at the sound of her scream. Holy hell. A red mark traced up her arm disappearing beneath her skin. Oh dear God she'd been hurt. I screamed out for her, pulling Clarke with me, refusing to let go.

"Oh God, Bellamy." She breathed, her eyes wide. "Your ankle, I…" She took a shuddering breath, attempting to collect herself.

"I'm fine. Clarke your arm-"

"I should really check it out, make sure you're okay. Minor burns, in and out, shouldn't have had any full body shocks." She spoke clinically, as though she were trying to emotionally distance herself from the problem. That was pretty normal for Clarke when she was assessing an injury – couldn't let her emotions (of which she had many) get in the way of actually helping. It probably would have worked too, if she hadn't been de facto sitting in my lap, my arms still wrapped tightly around her.

"Check yourself out." I growled at her.

"Bell." She murmured, waiting for me to release her, ignoring my request.

"Check yourself out!" She probed at her arm, enough that I was satisfied for now, but not so much that I wouldn't keep my eye on her ... for the rest of her life, actually.

"Some burning. Shocks traveling through my arm and out my leg. Didn't pass by my heart at all. I'll have Monty check my vitals later but it should be just fine. No permanent damage." She glanced down at the ground. "Thanks."

"Hmm?" My brow furrowed.

"For protecting me, like that. I used to think that maybe you wanted me dead, out of your way or whatever but…" She shook her head as I looked on in disbelief, unable to comprehend how she had ever thought that. "You always do. Protect me, I mean. All of us, really. You take care of all of us. Bell, I know there's something you're not telling us. Octavia said you had to do something to get on the Ark and that's why you don't want them to- but I guess I'm just saying, whatever it was you did. It was worth it Bell. We would all be dead if it weren't for you. You're… thanks Bell."

"What have I done?" I asked with a humorless laugh. "You're the one who keeps saving us all time and time again. All I do is get in the way. Yeah, I hunted. Someone else would have stepped up if I hadn't. All I've done is try to keep you all from your parents because I'm too afraid to face the consequences of my actions." I knew how bitter I sounded. And now I'd have to tell her. Now I'd have to tell her what I did to a man she used to call 'Uncle', what I'd done to her best friend (even if they were fighting right now, she wasn't about to justify my taking HIS dad away after what had happened to her own). Now I'd have to tell her and she'd never be able to see me as just Bell ever again. Now I'd be the crazy janitor from factory station who shot the chancellor.

"That's not true Bell."

"Clarke I-" Her lips cut me off and I found that each of the words I had planned to say to her just sort of, floated away. It was only a moment. A quick kiss that would forever linger in my mind. Barely a gentle caress of skin. It could have even been between friends. Just a thank you kiss. Nothing more.

But then our eyes met, a mirrored hunger hanging between us. And that was it. I pulled her closer, wrapping her up in my embrace, thanking whatever God existed that she was alive right now. My lips didn't 'gently caress' her anything, they devoured her. I devoured her. We were alive. She was alive. And good God, what a time to be alive.

* * *

 **Clarke**

Our hips stuttered against each other in an odd staccato, thrust, retreat, chase. We moved, not necessarily in tandem, but that didn't make this any less… was holy-fucking-shit a descriptive word? Probably not. But that was all I could reasonably come up with just now. He'd done that thing again, that protective, friend, thing. He hadn't even given a shit about himself, he could have died in the middle of that fence and he didn't give a shit about any of it. He just wanted to make sure I was okay. He'd killed a mountain lion earlier today. Then he was protective over me. It was probably some primal, uncivilized part of me, left over from when humans were first learning to survive on this same planet, but his actions today had created an un-namable need in the pit of my stomach. I hadn't wanted him. I had needed him. It was primal. It was instinctive. It was _so freaking hot._ Finn had been… it had been sex. Not quite making love, not…whatever this was. Just sex. I had thought it was amazing, but compared to what I was feeling now, it wasn't even a noteworthy experience. Bellamy filled me, stretched me, and he pushed me. He didn't treat me like a delicate flower. He treated me like a warrior. He treated me like both a prize to be claimed and an equal opponent. He treated me like-

"Holy shit! Yes! Right there, Bell!" Oh God. Why the hell was I analyzing this when he could do _that_. His fingers bore down on me, pressing that point just above where our bodies met, devouring each other. We were so close. I didn't understand how it was possible to be this close to another person. It was almost as though we had ceased to be us, and become one thing, one creature with one mind and one heart and one purpose. And that purpose was to consume each other. He was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I exploded around him in crashing layers. I couldn't be bothered to attempt to look sexy as I came, like I usually did. There just wasn't enough space left in my brain to accomplish that. I just came. Hard, fast, and seemingly without end. I rode out my orgasm, thrusting down hard on him. He growled. He actually growled, (It somehow only served to turn me on more.) and he flipped us over, covering my body with his. He was pounding into me now, not just letting me set the pace, but truly taking charge.

"Yes, Bell!" I breathed out. His face was buried in my neck, licking, nipping, and sucking his way around the skin there. He murmured something against my neck but it was muffled and I couldn't quite make it out. I wasn't about to stop and ask for clarification. It was… this was perfect. I was naked on a forest floor next to a dead animal, but this was absolute perfection.

I didn't ever want this to end.

* * *

It had ended. We had finished (me a few times more than him) and we had laid there for a few moments, burnt out and _so fucking happy_.

"That was…"

"Yeah." We didn't need any more words then that. We did our best to clean up and fix our appearance, deciding to claim any additional rumpled appearance was a part of the hunting we'd done. (We _did_ have something to show for it after all.) then Bellamy trussed up the animal and we picked it up, walking back in silence.

It wasn't awkward though. That surprised me. I had thought we would suddenly realize what had just happened, shrink back into ourselves, continue to avoid each other at all costs but instead, we'd just reached a new understanding of one another. We had just had 'I-can't-believe-we're-alive' sex. And it was _damn_ good. And now we were going to continue to be adults, partners so to speak, leading our people. Life went on. We prepared the meat on our lion, deciding to eat the beast Wells and his hunting party had returned with first as it was slightly smaller, wouldn't save as much meat for the future. Lincoln's tips were incredibly helpful. It was barely August and we would never have thought to already be preparing for winter but Lincoln had told us we already had a late start.

We had built several huts, we even had a smoking hut built to preserve the meat and we had several stores of food saved up. Octavia was showing people how to tan hides – how she was getting so good at this stuff so fast was beyond me but _damn_ – and Raven was working out a heating system in the drop ship. Harper was leading a group on weaving blankets, we were…preparing. Well. We might actually make it through the winter. Lincoln said it was easier to track animals in the winter, paw prints in the snow, so we could keep hunting, but with many of the more substantial food sources in hibernation, it was going to take a lot to feed a tribe our size. So we stocked the big snacks now. And decided to let the smaller animal populations get big, lazy, and not so scared of us. It was going to take a lot of rabbits to feed 96 kids. The Ark wasn't coming down until spring, that was a boon at least. When Monty had made contact they'd shown that they'd already forced an algae burst in a single wing of the ark, keeping it away from the water sources, then diverting the oxygen across the Ark. They'd bought themselves time. That was good. Introducing thousands more to planet Earth when resources were already scarce and when they'd all likely get themselves killed for pure arrogance and a lack of intelligence about these sorts of things wasn't going to help morale around here. We just needed to make it through the winter, then when they came we could spend all of spring, summer, and fall preparing them and our resources for the impending hard months. Or convince them to move South. We had options.

The following weeks went by much like the last few had. We prepared. We stocked up. We trained. And Bellamy and I, we became something close to friends. Maybe. No one else knew what had happened between us. It wasn't their business to be honest. Finn continued to try to choose between Raven and I which was an interesting fight to watch as we had both decided that neither of us could trust him enough to have that sort of relationship with, though he was still akin to family for Raven. But I found that the more time I spent with Bellamy, the more I just… didn't care. He could do what he liked. I certainly had. Bellamy wasn't into me like that, so we led together, we fought together (and with one another) and we remained friends. That was as far as it was likely to go. Unless he saved my life again. I wasn't exactly opposed to it happening again.

* * *

 **Bellamy**

I wanted her. I always wanted her. She wanted respect. She wanted our lives to go on, pretending it hadn't happened and I could give that to her. I _would_ give that to her. But _God_ did I want her. I knew what everyone thought of me, that I slept around a lot, had a lot of experience, but in all honesty for a man of my age I was alarmingly under-experienced. It wasn't exactly easy to get it on with girls on the Ark when I couldn't bring them back to my apartment, whether my mother was there or not, knowing that my baby sister would be under the floor boards able to hear _everything_. Two people. I'd been with two people before Clarke. Wait…Raven. Three. I'd been with three. Huh. I guess it wasn't as few as I'd thought. Ellie, a classmate on the Ark whose parents worked the same shift. Roma. Raven. And now Clarke. Ellie had been a race for both of us just to do it before we were the last virgins in our class. Roma had practically thrown herself at me when I'd become one of the leaders down here. It wasn't me she was after. It was my status. Because of that I didn't feel so badly for using her for sex. Then there was Raven. She'd found out about Finn. Then she told me about them. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been hurt by that. Clarke and _Spacewalker_. Like she couldn't already see what a….ugh. he was far beneath her. And thought I'd no claim to her at the time, it had still hurt. I lashed out. And I'd slept with Raven. And it only made both of us empty. Then there was Clarke. Clarke. Clarke. Clarke. She was…everything. She was everything. (And by **far** the greatest sex I had ever had.) It was more than just sex between us, there was trust, there was chemistry, and there was, on my side anyway – a true set of feelings that hadn't been there with any of the other girls. It really was different when you loved her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! This is an AU I've had in my head for a VERY long while - hope you all enjoy the next installment!**

* * *

 **Clarke**

I wanted him. It was wrong and I shouldn't even be focused on something like this right now, but _damn_ I wanted him. The opportunity arose two days later. Acid fog. We'd gotten too close to Mount Weather again. Bellamy, Finn, and I had been on a hunting trip. Because apparently my being around just one of them wasn't awkward enough, I needed them both to be there. As it happened, as much as I'd rather not have had Finn along for the ride, it was sort of... useful. Sort of. We heard the Grounder's horn, they'd enhanced the range so that we'd be able to hear it from camp, and in return, I was showing them a few medical tricks my mom had come up with. Our trade agreements were really beginning to spread some trust around, but that's not really the point here. The point was, we'd heard the horn, and we began to run, but we were way too far from camp given that we were dragging two deer carcasses we weren't planning to give up to the fog. We had worked far too hard to get them and we needed every scrap. Once they were safely tucked away in the nearest cave we knew of, howecer, there wasn't enough room for the three of us to be safe from the gas. Finn remembered before I did.

"Art Supply Store!" He yelled out excitedly.

"What?!" Bellamy's reply was far from kindly meant. "Have you gone mad?" He'll roared. I grabbed his hand.

"Come on!" And for some reason, he trusted me. All three of us made it to safety in that beat up old van. Of course now I was stranded until the horn rang out the all clear in an old beat up van with the man I loved and the boy I used to think I loved.

"When did you two stumble upon this hidey hole." It wasn't really a question. it was more a statement that provided an outlet for Bell's sarcasm and vague jealousy.

"First acid fog." Finn grinned fondly.

"With Wells." I added quickly, lest Bellamy get the wrong idea.

"Few times since." Finn added proudly, referencing those times that would be proof of that 'wrong idea' I hoped to avoid. I could feel the blush on my face. I could see the reaction to it on Bellamy's.

"Ever bring Raven out here?" I asked in an attempt to shut him up. It worked, but it also may have been the wrong thing to say anyway. I was beginning to realize how easy it was for me to read Bellamy. He was like an open book to me these days, and to Bell, that statement reeked of my only having left Finn because of Raven. Which wasn't true. Or it was maybe, but the catalyst to my leaving aside, I was more than glad I had. I was quickly falling for Bell in a way I never could for Finn. And that meant that as much as I wanted to just say 'screw Finn's feelings, I want to jump on Bellamy Blake' I had to be careful Bell didn't see any of my 'romantic overtures' so to speak, as an attempt to make Finn jealous. They weren't.

So I maintained a proper distance, handled the conversations as best as I could, avoided the alcohol, and when we decided to try to get some rest, that it wasn't likely the fog would clear til morning, set myself up between them, but not too close to either of them. Bellamy was laid out in the back of the car, plenty of space with the seats removed. Finn had attempted to give me a pulled out seat cushion from the front as a pillow but I had declined, so he was using that and various other parts of the seat up front to make a nest of sorts. I waited until I could hear their heavy breathing, and then I crawled back to Bell's side and curled up. He awoke with a start and shifted slightly, to give me a place in his arms to lay. His body curled around mine, his limbs holding me to him.

"What are you doing?" He whispered as he pulled me close to him, clearly not giving a shit.

"What does it look like, genius?" I retorted sleepily.

"You didn't seem this keen on me half an hour ago, you know, when your boyfriend up there was making a secret inside reference to a time when, from what I could glean, the two of you were alone in here?" I ignored his anger and snuggled my head into his chest, inhaling that scent that was utterly Bellamy.

"I didn't want to make it seem like I was trying to make him jealous with you. If he thinks I'm using you or rebounding to you, he's going to think there's still a chance and there isn't. I was an idiot back then and I made stupid choices. I'm going to try to keep a clear head and handle this situation with as much grace as I can." I paused before adding the rest. "But I also wanted to sleep next to you. So this is what I came up with." He chuckled quietly.

"You're kind of amazing, did you know that?" I didn't answer. I just inhaled his scent again and closed my eyes. It wasn't enough. I wanted more from him, all of him, but for now, it was more than nothing.

We awoke to a knocking on the door of the vehicle, and instantly, Bellamy pulled me close to him and reached for the gun that he'd set next to him before falling asleep.

"Whose there?" He murmured quietly to Finn, motioning for him to look out the window but not daring to speak so loudly that he would be heard by whatever was out there. Apparently Finn's look of disgust was more important than checking on our well being, because rather than _doing what he was told_ Finn decided just to stare at Bellamy and I like we were murderers or some shit.

"Clarke?" And muffled voice called out. Bellamy's grip on me inexplicably tightened and even Finn suddenly looked nervous.

"Relax, it's Wells." I rolled my eyes at my sudden guard dogs.

"I'm here!" I called out. I rolled out of Bellamy's embrace, trying hard not to miss the feeling. Tried. Not necessarily succeeded. I swung open the hatch and Wells grinned down at me.

"I knew it. Murphy thought you all died."

"Oh he of little faith."

"Come on then, fog's cleared and we've got work to do." I took his hand and let him haul me out. Finn emerged behind me, and then Bellamy, carrying the jacket I'd left inside.

"Thanks."

"Mm." Was his curt reply. Lovely. He and I needed to talk. Sooner rather than later. Alone. But Finn wasn't going to let that happen without a fight.

"Miller is out somewhere looking for you lot too, we split up so we could cover more ground, but I think he got lost cause I heard him yelling not too long ago. We need to go looking for him now." Wells said cheerfully.

"Actually, we also have some deer stashed that need to get taken back." I interjected before anyone else could come up with a plan. I'd realized that the biggest offensive strategy in getting people to agree to your plan, was to say it first and loudest. "Why don't you and Finn go get them and Bellamy and I will find Miller. If he's hurt I'll need to be there, and he trusts Bell." Wells nodded.

"Sounds good!"

"Yeah." Finn added, his voice a bit saltier than it generally came out. "Why don't we all just implicitly trust _Bell_."

"Where was he headed Wells?" Bellamy asked gruffly, his voice not betraying his emotions.

"Heading towards the River Caves."

"We'll go that direction. The deer are stashed in the caves a mile west of camp."

"Practically on our way back." Wells nodded. "No problem. Thanks for watching out for her, Bellamy."

"In my experience, _she_ doesn't need much watching out for." I replied haughtily.

"If that's really what _she_ thinks than _she_ hasn't been paying much attention. _She_ is reckless and makes idiotic decisions when she doesn't consult with her friends." Bellamy replied.

"Whatever, Blake. Let's go. The sooner we can find Miller the better." Finn perked up at this. He thought we were fighting. Idiot. And so off we went. For about five minutes. At which point I stopped walking and pulled him aside.

"I like you."

"Clarke-"

"No listen. I feel like there's a lot of miscommunication happening and I don't know, you just seemed sort of jealous of Finn and Wells which is ridiculous because even though I've made up with Wells we've _never_ liked each other like that, we're just family friends, grew up together you know? Closest thing I have to a brother, and Finn? I thought I made this clear last night but I can reiterate. I thought I was into Finn but I barely _knew_ him and the more I get to know him the more I realize that I am so, so, so _not_ into him and that I was an absolute _idiot_ for hooking up with him, but dude. Do you know how lonely you get in solitary? I hadn't had human contact for a year, forgive me for being a bit reckless, and Bellamy, I really just thought I should clear everything up and just tell you because I don't want my miscommunication to ruin something between us before it even happens, you know, so I guess what I'm trying to say is just that I like you, and I don't know if you're into me like that at all but if you are, then you don't have to worry about anyone else, okay? I-" his lips cut me off, kissing me hard.

"I like you too." He hissed out between toe-tingling kisses. "A lot, actually. And seeing you with Finn?" He growled instead of finishing that sentence.

"There's nothing between me and Finn." I swore. It was true. But I also knew that I would swear to just about anything if he kept kissing me like that.

"Clarke." He spoke my name like it was a prayer, and I his saint. I melted into him as he pulled my tank over my head, and buried his face in my breasts. My head thrown back, I wound my fingers in his hair and held him there. My legs wrapped around his waist and he hoisted me up, pressing me back up against a tree. I would have scratches I couldn't explain but damn if the mix of slight pain and the pleasure he was providing in spades didn't do something for me.

"Bell don't stop." I breathed out as he thrust up against me. "More. More." He seemed to agree with my analysis and with little to no help from me, he rid us both of our pants and proceeded to lay me down on the soft grass and moss. We fucked like the world was about to end, when in reality, we had never been closer to the beginning of a new world. Maybe that was it, the thrill of beginnings, the thrill of each other, whatever it was, we were lost in it, and I wasn't really sure we were ever going to get out. It didn't take long for orgasm to overtake me and he wasn't far behind, calling out my name moments after I called out his.

"I hate to see you with Finn." He admitted in the intimacy we'd created.

"I hate to leave your side." He nodded, kissing me furiously before helping me put my clothes back on.

"Let's not wait so long this time."

"Agreed."

"Find Miller. Back to camp. Do our duties." He spoke in all seriousness before he let an ounce of teasing into his voice. "And then when all the kids are back in their beds, I'll sneak into yours." He grinned. It wasn't a sight I got to see particularly often, but when I did, I loved it. He was beautiful when he smiled. He leaned forward and kissed me, quickly but no less passionately than before.

"Deal.."

And that's exactly what we did. Over, and over, and over again. Two months later, and no one had found out yet. That was all about to change, of course. But then again, how I was expected to keep it a secret after what I found out after the peace treaty with the Grounders is beyond me.

 **Author's Note: Thanks those of you who reviewed the first chapter! I really appreciate the feedback! I love to improve my writing so I welcome all kinds of review - the good, the bad, and the ugly! - Please leave a review with what you liked, what you didn't, what you want to see more/less of, and what you're hoping for out of this fic! xoxo - E**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I really appreciate all the feedback! Thanks all!**

* * *

 **Clarke**

"Skikru is hereby inducted as the thirteenth tribe!" It was what we had been working for practically since we landed. Well, since we realized we were fucked five ways to Friday if we didn't have the support of the clans. It was necessary. More than necessary. We were going to die without it. And we had finally done it. We were in. Lexa had announced it. Everything was perfectly in place. So why did I feel like vomiting?

It was... a nervous response. It had to be. Though why I was nervous was beyond me. But dear God, please don't let it be some latent response to the radiation or some bullshit like that! There was too much at stake right now for us all to start getting sick, me in particular. If I was sick, who was going to take care of my people? Lincoln, maybe, actually now that we were the thirteenth tribe, there would be medical professionals who would be glad to help out, no matter how much Bellamy angrily scowled at Lincoln every time they were within ten feet of each other. He'd gotten on board with most of the Grounders, thank God, but Lincoln, I mean the native was openly romancing his little sister so I guess it made sense... sort of. Whatever. they were both man enough to rise above their particular issues with one another for the good of their people. I just didn't expect them to speak to each other anytime soon. Maybe ever.

Oh shit. There it was. I ran out through the entry way and attempted to get as far away from the hut as I could before excavating the contents of my stomach. The sharp taste of bile filled my mouth and I clutched my stomach as I heaved again.

"Clarke?" Lincoln had followed me out, and was looking highly concerned.

"I'm fine. Sorry. I've been nauseous all day."

"Perhaps that still speaks of being 'fine' up in the sky, but down here that implies a bit more concern. Please. Allow me to examine you." His voice was filled with concern. It was touching. If Bellamy found him speaking to me alone and about something other than the political alliance between us he would find reason and way to pick a fight with him. Lincoln already risked the peace on our end by romancing Octavia. He was a good man. He cared about O, and he cared about her people.

"I'm fine. My vitals are all fine. It's just nerves. Today made me a bit anxious, that's all."

"Fever, sweating, aching, or pain anywhere?"

"A backache but that's just because I slept funnily last night. I've been feeling some nausea since I woke up. Really. I think hearing the verdict, the treaty being put in place, all the anxiety that Lexa would say no made me nervous. I reacted badly, that's all." Lincoln shrugged.

"You know your own body best. If it persists, however, please, come to me. Octavia would not be happy if one of her best friends was ill." I smiled.

"Thanks, Lincoln." He nodded and retreated. "Lincoln!" I called out after him. He turned, his stance as quiet and stoic as he was. "Thank you. For talking care of O, and not letting Bellamy - I'm sorry about him, by the way. He's just protective. He's always had to take care of her, he's not used to her being out of a small controlled environment. I'll try to get him to let up on you."

"She is more than worth the trouble. I simply wish not to harm the relationship between the two of them. She loves her brother very deeply." I nodded.

"Anyway, thanks." He nodded and disappeared back into the hut.

* * *

"Clarke." Bellamy jogged to catch up with me, pushing past Finn and taking his usual place by my side. "You ran out of there quickly. I had thought you were going to take lead accepting the treaty, not me."

"You were more than capable. They've named us co-leaders of our tribe after all."

"You're avoiding the question."

"Anxiety. Needed some fresh air." I admitted.

"Are you okay?" His voice was filled with concern immediately.

"Anxiety isn't going to kill me Bell." I scorned loudly before lowering my voice and murmuring in his direction, "But if you wanted to hell me relax a bit when we get back..." Bellamy grinned.

"Always happy to help you out, Heda." He whispered back, using part of my new title as commander of my tribe. SkiHeda. Commander of Skikru. I'd be lying if I said we hadn't hurried back. A lot. Even Wells was suggesting we slowed down. We didn't.

As soon as we returned, we set about tasking everyone with their various roles for the week and then took off into the woods to go hunting. The moment the deer was dead, I jumped Bellamy. He spun me around and pushed me up against a mossy rock, his lips capturing mine in a passionate, possessive kiss.

"What is it with you and hunting trips?" He asked between kisses with a grin.

"We're alone. You killed a deer, which was pretty sexy, and oh yeah. We're alone."

"You think my killing a deer is sexy?" He asked, sounding all together too proud of himself.

"I'm blaming the cavemen."

"How much DNA and natural selection is still left over from the cavemen, realistically, Princess?" He kissed my neck, and pulled back my shirt, eyes zeroing in on my cleavage.

"Says the boy staring at my breasts."

"They're magnificent." He replied without a hint of irony or teasing. "Not to mention the girl they're attached to who seems to think she can distract me and get me off my point. Tell me about the caveman instincts, Clarke." He sucked on my nipple making me moan out for him, _God_ he was talented. "Please." He whispered against my skin. I couldn't exactly deny him when he was doing _that_.

"You're different from the others." I managed finally as his hands traced their way up and down my body making me shiver into his touch. "Murphy, Miller, some of the others, they hunt because they want to be the best, they want to win. Wells is so distraught by the action he has to distance himself from it all together." I had to pause and swallow, his hands had found their way into my panties and were playing with my clit. I took a deep breath and continued on, he seemed spurred by my admition, by my voice even. "But you - oh God yes Bellamy! - you are like one of the hunters of old - oh holy shit don't stop! - you live for this. You understand why you're hunting. You aren't doing it to prove yourself the biggest man but you aren't doing it out of pure necessity either. You belong here, Bell, and when I see that, when I - SHIT!" I stopped talking then, I was so close, I was so freaking close. I bit my lip and wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him like a life raft.

"When you see that, what?" He asked softly, his voice low, his eyes almost black, staring into mine. "Tell me Clarke. Tell me what you see."

"I see you. Who you were meant to be. And it makes me happy." He growled and leaned forward, pulling my lips between his and kissing me so hard I thought he might be sucking the breath away from me forever. His fingers flicked and tugged, two of them tracing the rim of my entrance. I shook, so close. So goddamned close, Bell."

"Please." I whimpered. Suddenly his fingers weren't lightly tracing anymore, two of them had thrust up into me while his other hand pressed and played hard against my clit. I screamed through my orgasm, the waves rushing through my body coursing and churning like the ocean. He was everything. Oh god it was so clear. He was my everything. "Bell," I whispered, glad my arms were already wrapped tightly around his neck, pulling him up close to me. "I want you like this. All the time."

"Me too." He admitted. "I think about you all the time. I _want_ you all the time, Clarke. You..." He trailed off, grinning like he was proud of me. I could feel the blush spreading across my skin as I looked into his dark eyes. "You consume me." I kissed him, lighter now, I was dazed, in an afterglow of happiness and fulfillment. But he wasn't. I could feel him hard against my leg and I couldn't help the grin that overtook my lips.

"That's the grin of a hellcat, young lady." He said with faux admonishment. "You wipe that smirk off your face this instant. I won't stand for scheming."

"Don't stand then." I suggested lightly before tackling him to the forest floor. This was quickly becoming one of my favorite places - the forest floor I meant. Or maybe I meant in Bell's arms. Either way, the two weren't mutually exclusive. I straddled his thighs, my juices still dripping from my orgasm, now soaking into his pants. "If it's a hellcat you want..." I suggested, scratching my nails lightly against his chest, pushing aside the fabric of his grey tee as I teased his skin. He groaned but it was one of happy anticipation. I pulled off his shirt, giving myself access to his delectable chest. _It really was incredible._ I kissed and nipped at his skin, reveling in the feeling of his hands winding themselves into my hair.

His pants didn't stay on long either and soon we were nothing but skin on skin, growling, kissing, nipping, sucking, holding, frantic skin. How had I gone through life so oblivious that such passion, such hope and joy and _happiness_ could even be possible? I hadn't even known what to hope for, but here it was, the answers to my unsaid prayers, in my arms. We fucked like nothing else mattered and to be honest, nothing else did. I needed him and he needed me and for the next half hour everyone else was just going to have to take care of themselves. We were busy.

* * *

"Where the hell have you two been?!" Octavia ran up to us frantically grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the dropship. "Put down the damn deer, commander." She yelled at her brother with as much sarcasm a girl her size could muster up.

"O, what's going on?" He was instantly worried. He ran his hand through his hair smoothing back some of the volume my own hands had added to it. I blushed at the memory.

"Monty got through!"

"He...what?"

"The radios? You know, those things he and Raven have been working on for like three months or something? They got through to the Ark, you are NEVER going to believe it!"

"What?"

"Jaha's not dead!" My eyes sought out Bellamy's, anxiety clouding both our features.

"I shot him, O." Bellamy's voice cracked and he swallowed thickly.

"Yeah but then Clarke's mom broke the law or whatever and gave him like, a _ton_ of blood and fixed him up and then he pardoned her cause, _duh,_ she saved his life and he's in charge again and totally fine! Wells is super thrilled, obviously, and any very well hidden resentment that he swore he didn't have for you is totally gone! You guys are good to go!"

"And the rest of the people, the oxygen shortage?" I prompted, mentally promising to return to what would still be a difficult issue later on. (If they wanted to punish Bellamy they were going to have to go through me first and it was not going to be pretty.)

"Hang on a hot sec. They said they were gonna hold off on any ruling until they could actually talk to Bellamy and 'understand his motive' or whatever which was bull cause his motive was to freaking save my life which _they_ were trying to throw away so they can shove it, but then Raven said something clever about the charter of the Ark or whatever and how Arkian law didn't affect us on Earth so if they wanted to prosecute Bellamy for shooting Jaha, either they were going to have to request that we extradite him to the Ark or they were going to have to let us play out our legal systems here on Earth and _then_ one of the old ladies on the council started laughing and asked about our 'legal systems' all condecendingly and while Jasper made a 'whatever the hell we want' joke which was admitedly actually really funny, Raven got into tech speak mode and said that we had put _months_ into alliances with native tribes - at which point we realized we hadn't told them about the Grounders or the Mountain Men yet - so we put a pin in that and said that we were officially our own people, Skikru, and that we ruled our tribe under the charter of the Grounder nations and that if we broke those laws we would have to forfit the peace treaties. Don't tell them that that's only true if we break the laws in regards to the other tribes or if we do so in Ton D.C. their main city, and that we can technically make up our own intertribal laws according to the tribal agreement from 8 years ago when the Ice Nation got all pissy that Lincoln's tribe wasn't punishing their prisoners in the same way but-"

"O, how do you know all of this?" Bellamy sounded... almost impressed.

"I'm dating one of them, duh." Bellamy ground his teeth but at a harsh look from me he didn't admonish her further.

"I have no control over you, but I would very much rather you not speak of it in front of me." O looked shocked and turned to me.

"What the hell did you do with Bell?"

"Can you promise to keep all Lincoln-talk to a minumum around Bellamy?" I asked, negotiating a treaty of some sort.

"Yeah."

"Then he won't try to command you to stay away from him."

"Seriously?" She looked to Bellamy to confirm and he nodded stiffly. Her face lit up and she threw herself into Bell's arms.

"OH MY GOSH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! YOU ARE THE BEST BIG BROTHER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!"

"Get back to the story, O."

"Oh yeah. They said they could at least agree not to persecute until they came down here."

"They're coming down here?!" I choked.

"Not yet. They'd forced an algae bloom and while it's going to affect their water sources in a few months, they've got a few months and they now know that there's somewhere else for them to go. Jasper and Raven convinced them to stay up there for the winter because we just didn't have enough supplies and accommodations for everyone and a bunch of people were going to die and then Jasper said something that made it sound like we were gonna need to get Tribal permission for a landing anyway so they were better off waiting for our okay and then Raven made it sound like the Grounders had a lot better tech than the Ark did, so they're totally fine waiting through the winter. Sometime in spring they're gonna come down. But until then, you two are still Skihedas." Octavia grinned. I sank back, looking at Bell. That was a lot to take in. There were a lot of decisions to be made. O's smile faded a bit.

"Your mom does want to talk to you, Clarke." I closed my eyes.

"I don't want to talk to her."

"One of our hedas does, and we all kind of decided that maybe Bellamy should stay about from diplomacy with the guy he shot and all his friends."

"You don't have to do this, Clarke." He said in earnest. But I did. I had to do this. For Bellamy.

"No, she's right. I agree. I've got to man up a bit here, and you really shouldn't be talking to Jaha. We will all stand up and protect you when the time comes, but we really don't need to make that any more difficult than it has to be. I can do this."

"Do it with Raven. She's a genius at manipulating them. It's freaking hilarious." I liked Raven, I really did. I wanted things to work out between us, for us to be friends. Maybe this was the first step.

"Yeah. Okay. Where is she?"

"Talking with that mechanic guy on the Ark about some improvements to the electric heating system in the cabins."

"Oh. Okay." My brow furrowed. "Wait, what?"

"Oh yeah, you've been busy with treaty stuff." Yeah. Treaty stuff. And doing her brother. But we didn't have to get into that now. "They're doing so much techy stuff and Raven found a way to divert the heat that's created by all the machines we use and use that heat to warm up the cabins. The Ark guy is helping her make it more efficient I think. Whatever it is, her and Monty's eyes are lighting up like its a freaking miracle or whatever."

"Okay. I'll go in then." I walked forward but before I could get too far, Octavia gripped my arm. Her voice lowered, she whispered in my ear.

"Lincoln is here." My brown furrowed.

"Bellamy isn't going to like-"

"So don't tell him. He's in the drop ship. With Indra, and Nyko, and a few others. They're going to accompany you as SkiHeda, give you some cred or something."

"They really didn't have to-"

"It's not just the shock factor, asserting dominance and all. Lincoln also said he needed to talk to you. Privately. After all of this."

"About what?" Octavia shrugged.

"I have no idea." She raised her voice back up. "Good luck with your mom."

"Yeah. Thanks Octavia."

* * *

"Clarke!" I walked, two warriors on either side of me.

"Mom." I spoke evenly, keeping my voice as emotionless as I could. I nodded to Raven, she returned the gesture our eyes forging a quick alliance. We may not be besties yet, but we would both take each other over those on the Ark. "Chancellor Jaha, Council." I nodded at each of them in turn. Indra interjected, speaking clearly in Tregedislang. Lincoln leaned in, translating quietly in my ear.

"She's just asserting dominance. And she asked if you wanted her to yell at them for not addressing you properly." I shook my head.

"No." He nodded and leaned back, staring at the screen Raven was seated before, making eye contact with each of the terrified looking council members.

"Clarke?" Jaha spoke tentatively.

"Allow me to introduce my friends." I said evenly. "These are delegates from Trikru. Lincoln, warrior and healer. Indra, warrior. Sindri, warrior, Anya, warrior. They were here to discuss the possibility of adding your numbers to our tribe. We thought it best they join me in our discussion today."

"This isn't really a political meeting, Clarke," Jaha returned slowly. "Mostly we just wanted to speak with you." Sindri snorted out a laugh.

"You requested an audience with Skiheda. She is a busy woman. You can understand the confusion." He spoke with the sort of authority that even a man like Jaha couldn't ignore.

"Clarke." My mother's voice broke through, shock filling her tone.

"I don't have anything to say to you." I replied before she could get another word out. "Chancellor," I turned instead to Jaha. "There are a few things we need to discuss."

"Go ahead."

"If you were to join us, every Arkian would have to comply by _our_ laws. There are no exceptions."

"All due respect, Clarke, you are barely 18 years old. Others of you are younger still. And you are speaking to a group who has been leading the Ark to prosperity for decades."

"You mentioned those younger than I, let's discuss that. There's a girl here, Charlotte, 12 years old. You floated her parents when she was 5 years old. Distraught, she attacked a guard, in her grief, because _as a five year old_ she had to watch her parents be sucked out into the black. She has been locked up in prison ever since." Anya almost choked. There were quick and sudden words in Trigedesleng, Lincoln leaned in to translate.

"Forgive the outburst. There was some shock."

"Understandably." I murmured back.

"We wish to reiterate that we will stand by your side against men who would do such a thing. And Lexa may wish to make certain that those who led the Ark will not be leaders here on Earth." I nodded.

"The Grounder Alliance wishes there to be assurances that the monsters who would do something so heartless to a child would never be in a position to make decisions for the tribes here on Earth." I spoke loudly. "I would like to add that you took away your right to claim me and mine as children when you sent us down here to die. We've had to fight and work for everything we have, no thanks to you. We have gone up against acid attacks from terrorists, a horde of reapers breaking into our camp, and a group of old men, clung to the old way of life, not so very unlike you and your council, who wish us dead simply because we pose a threat to their ultimate power and imperialistic ruling. We are tribes down here. And if you do not agree to the treaty or it's properties, then Arkians will be a separate tribe from Skikru, and you will have to figure your own way in this world. It won't be nearly as easy as I can already see on your faces that you think it will be. This land is savage and unforgiving, and if you defy our treaties, we will not support you. We are Grounders. Do not attempt to stand against us."

"Clarke! Don't be ridiculous!"

"You should be addressing her with the respect her title commands." Anya spoke harshly. "You think too little of your own children. They have done the impossible. The Skihedas have garnered respect from every tribe, have fought valiently against the Mountain Men, have provided safetly and knowledge so that we may escape the threats we face. Skikru is the 13th tribe. They have agreed to speak for the rest of the Arkians upon their decent. But if you do not comply with their demands and they withdraw their claim, we will be forced to treat you as hostile invaders. And we will win."

"How in the hell did this become a war talk?!" My mother asked, passionately. "I just wanted to talk to my daughter!"

"I told you. I have nothing to say to you. Jaha, The council and I will gather a list for you to read and discuss, all the aspects of the treaty that you will need to agree to. As with any peace talk, we welcome your rebuttal and suggested compromises. I can have that for you by tomorrow. As of right now, I need to see to a medical issue."

"Clarke!"

"Wells told me." I shot back. "Actually, no he didn't, I figured it out and he admitted it to me after I confronted him. You were the one who turned dad in. And then you let me believe that it was my best friend who had done it. You let me hate him for something you did." I shook my head at her. "You're a coward."

"Clarke-"

"Other children wish to speak with their parents. Raven will be facilitating." Raven nodded her firm approval before I continued. "Please send their parents in." The delegates from Trekru followed me as I slid back down into the next floor of the dropship.

"It is good you are heda." Sindri said. Anya nodded.

"Yes, you showed power and fight today. It would be better if you dressed the part. After all, winter is coming and you must be cold in your thin clothing."

"Others need the furs more." I commented simply.

"You might consider trading with us. We have more furs and clothing than we need, there are many in the villages who do a good job and would be more than happy to trade."

"For what? I know we just did that whole spiel and everything but we're getting a whole lot more out of this treaty than you are." Lincoln laughed.

"You would see it that way. Believe me. You're wrong. Ice Nation was...icy about the whole thing because that's who they are. But everyone else was dying to add you as the thirteenth tribe. You can compete with the Mountain Men in ways we've never been able to. Your understanding of their technology alone would be helpful, but your knowledge of people who are holed up in a single space, unable to explore, to be part of nature, it's...unnerving."

"It's more than that." Indra added. "You add numbers to our legions. Possibilities that-"

"We are elaborating more than we need to." Anya cut them both off. "You could trade any number of things for those furs. Individuals who prefer making clothing to shelling nuts would gladly trade some well sewn furs for bags of your roasted nuts. There are others who need help caring for their many children. Your people are closer to the children's age themselves and may enjoy playing with them in the forests and rivers. I know many of you never had the opportunity to do so. Childcare could be paid for in food or clothing. Speak to your people. They may wish to take on employment outside of the needs of you and your tribe, just as Octavia has taken her place beside Indra in training to be a warrior. If someone were to take them on as an apprentice, it would be the master's job to feed and cloth his protege. There are also jobs to be had in our villages or cities. We are one people. Do not hesitate to ask for help." Childcare. Apprenticeships. This was sounding less and less like us struggling to survive, and more and more like we were beginning to...thrive. I took a deep breath.

"Thank you Anya. I will discuss it with my people."

"Very good. We shall go. Lincoln wanted to discuss something with you in private. Remember what I said, brother." The others left, leaving Lincoln and I alone.

"What did she say?" I probed, my curiosity getting the better of me. He flushed and shook his head.

"She thinks I'm going to ask how to best ask Octavia to...never mind. That's not why I'm here. I've realized...watching from a far, I've noticed what Octavia and the others have not."

"Which is..."

"You and Bellamy." I flushed and my skin grew cold.

"What about-"

"You are in love. You are...together."

"Lincoln-"

"I'm not here to tell you to stop or that you must tell someone. If you are both happy, then that is enough. I simply thought..." He paused and took a deep breath. "Is it possible your sickness comes from something other than anxiety?"

"No, it cleared right up. I'm not sick, just when I'm anxious lately I get sick and then I feel better right away and then I'm fine." I assured him.

"Only sick in the mornings. Regularly. After..." He cleared his throat. "I was returning from visiting Octavia a few nights ago, sneaking out so I wouldn't run into Bellamy and a few miles away from camp...I ran into Bellamy. And you. I left immediately. This is awkward. I am sorry. I just wanted to know if you might be unwell in a... womanly way."

"Oh God. You...oh. Right. Shit." He had seen us. Not just that we were together but he had seen us... _together._ I was bright red now I could feel it.

"I am not going to tell anyone, but if you are pregnant Clarke, there is much you must do to prepare your own body. The radiation can be too much for the unborn. There are things we must do here to help them."

"No. No I can't be. On the Ark we have... devices put in when we first, when we get our courses. I'm not able to get pregnant until that device is removed. Overpopulation is a problem on the Ark, that's why Octavia...that's why they locked her up for being born you see."

"And there is no chance that this device has malfunctioned in someway? I don't mean to be rude but...there are other signs of it. I would almost be certain you were."

"I...I can't be."

"Nothing is fool-proof, Clarke. I would run tests. There is too much at stake to be wrong." I couldn't be. I couldn't be. These devices were 100% accurate. They had been for nearly a century in the sky and a great deal of time before that on Earth. There was nothing... Then again I had gone through a drop ship crash since. But so had everyone else! And there were plenty of other girls hooking up and none of them were pregnant! It was nothing. I couldn't be. There would have had to have been something that had happened to me that hadn't happened to any of the other girls that could have affected a small electrical device inside my body.

Like an electric shock.

Oh my God.

"What's the test?" I whispered, my heart suddenly beating faster than it ever had before. "Down here I mean."

"If you wish to be discreet, you could come to my cave tonight, with Octavia. She would show you the way and I could test you without anyone else knowing."

"I can't tell her whose it is. Not yet."

"She won't ask questions. She's good at keeping secrets."

"Yeah. Okay. Tonight then."

* * *

 **Author's Note: PLEASE review! I really love feedback that will help me improve my writing, so good, bad, or ugly I would LOVE to get feedback! Thank you guys!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Clarke**

Octavia and I crept out of our complex, through a hole beneath our fence.

"Did you dig this?"

"Me and 6 other people." She replied. "There's always rebels in every group, even in a group made up of rebels. Sometimes we want to get out from under the eye of big brother. Literally, for me."

"Wow. That's..."

"You're not going to tell are you?"

"I was going to say that's awesome. Hell no I'm not telling. Everyone needs a break from..."

"Bellamy. Admit it. You were going to say Bellamy."

"We'd be dead without him."

"Yup. Say it anyway."

"He's... very protective and keeps us fed and makes us all think logically."

"No he doesn't, that's you Miss Logic. Tell me how you really feel Clarke." Octavia was grinning ear to ear. It was dark and we'd just crawled through a reinforced dirt hole in the ground but I could tell her smile was borderline maniacal.

"Sometimes he can be a bit stifling."

"Smothering."

"Overboard."

"Batshit crazy?"

"You said it, O, not me." She laughed quietly, though she needn't have. We were making quick time away from camp. How many times had she taken these exact paths? She could make this journey in the dark, looking at me more than she was at where her feet were stepping.

"So why exactly are you coming with me to see my boyfriend tonight? We're not doing some group thing, are we? I would have worn something way cuter."

"No we are not having a threesome, O." I rolled my eyes but had to stop any return sarcasm to her comment short as I tripped spectacularly over a root.

"Watch out." Octavia helped steady me and then nodded for me to continue.

"We're almost there, you may as well tell me. Bell hates Lincoln but even he would have to let you go to him if you needed medical advice or something. And if he didn't, I don't see you as the type to need his permission."

"It's not about permission, I just don't want everyone to know yet."

"Know what?"

"I'm serious, O, you can't tell _anyone_."

"Oh my gosh, Clarke I promise. Hurry the fuck up and spill."

"I may or may not be... pregnant."

"WHAT?!"

"O! Shut up!"

"They can't hear us out here. Trust me. Lincoln and I did it pretty loudly like five feet from where you're standing and no one heard a thing, it's fine."

"I don't care! Shut up anyway!"

"Shit. This is... Shit! Look, I want to be all supportive and excited for you, but you do realize that Finn and Raven are back together, right? You and Raven are all chill now and as great as that is, I don't think it's going to survive your carrying and raising her boyfriend's baby!" Finn's. Yeah. I guess that makes sense.

"O, it's not-"

"Wait, how did this even happen? Didn't all you girls get an implant or something? I remember Mom freaking out about how I didn't have one and that was going to be a problem one day and Bellamy insisting that it absolutely was _not_ because who was I going to be sleeping with anyway and then he and I got in a fight and ignore this tangent, do you or do you not have an implant?"

"I do but... I have reason to believe it may have malfunctioned."

"What? How-"

"Can you just take me to Lincoln? I really want to know for sure before I start over-analyzing everything."

"Yeah! For sure! We're almost there."

"Correction." A deep voice called out. "You are here."

"Technically we're a few feet short, actually." Octavia pointed out teasingly before leaping into Lincoln's arms. I made a point of examining a nearby tree to give them at least a small semblance of privacy.

"Clarke." Lincoln greeted me simply and kindly before nodding towards an entryway. "As you said, let's find out as soon as we can."

"Yeah, cause if you are prego, we really need to find a way to hide you from Raven."

"Raven?" Lincoln asked. "Why would Raven care?"

"Would you not be angry if I was pregnant with someone else's spawn?"

"Anger isn't exactly the emotion that comes to mind. But regardless, I don't see the correlation here-"

"Octavia." I cut in. "It isn't Finn's. That only happened once, and it was so long ago, before Raven was here. It was after that I had the issue with my... device."

"Eww. Don't say Wells. You guys keep describing your relationship like you're siblings since you've made up, and that's not logic I want to carry through to anywhere."

"It's not- look. I'll make you a deal. If I _am_ pregnant, which I didn't think I was until your boyfriend planted the seed of doubt in my mind, then I will tell you whose it is. If I'm not, then you have to forget it."

"No deal." Octavia snorted. Lincoln murmured something in Tregedisleng and she nodded intently before continuing. "I take it back. Deal."

"What? What was that?!"

"He's like, _really_ sure you're pregnant."

"Son of a-"

"Come on. I need some blood." I held out my arm at Lincoln's behest and he pulled out a needle. "I've already mixed the concoction, so this shouldn't take long."

"How exactly do you test for pregnancy down here?"

"The Mountain Men have precise tools, and while we could fashion something of the sort, we have deemed it a waste of our resources. Usually we stick to trusting our knowledge of our own bodies and our own uses of contraception." Octavia coughed suddenly and I couldn't help but noticed an almost prideful blush spreading across her skin. I was going to ignore that for now, but since she obviously didn't have any contraceptive device and since she wasn't pregnant... it was clear she knew what he was talking about anyway. "With your device as you say, it is a tad trickier. You don't regularly menstruate and so it is hard to read your own bodies. So we have come up with a slight chemical test. I mix your blood with different chemicals and see which reactions take place. There is a lot of science to it but basically we are looking for one reaction in particular which signifies the high amount of-"

"Your looking for hCG in my blood. Like they used to."

"In essence, yes. It's a crude test, but it is effective. A false negative is possible when it is done this way soon after conception, but given my estimate and when you said the possible malfunction occurred, I'm going to guess you are fairly far along. Also there are other signs."

"You said that before. What do you mean." Lincoln swallowed stiffly as he mixed my blood into a small canister.

"I'd rather not-"

"As you said, it's not as though I'm menstruating more or less than usual so what exactly-"

"Besides the fainting, nausea, and odd food habits?"

"Which odd food habits?"

"A few days ago Monty made a joke about how you ate an entire case of dried jerky for breakfast and then turned your nose up at it not half a day later. Seemed to think you'd gone overboard and that was why you were sick about it. Seems more like cravings to me."

"Okay, what else."

"I watched you get nauseous several times and then walk away like you were fine."

"I never fainted."

"No but Jasper said that you looked really pale the other day and then had to suddenly sit down and that you tried to pass it off as standing up too quickly."

"I did stand up too quickly."

"Your breasts are enormous." I paused. I certainly hadn't been expecting that.

"Yeah, they've always-"

"More than usual. And you've added some weight to your hips and thighs, much like a woman preparing to carry a child." I glanced down at my body. Damn. He wasn't wrong.

I..."

"Also." He held out the canister but I didn't have to look inside to know the answer. It was written clearly across his face.

"Oh my God." I breathed, sinking back against the wall.

"You should sit." I slid down to the floor, burring my face in my hands.

"I can't tell him." I murmured, looking up at Lincoln. "He can't handle more responsibility right now, it would just be selfish and wrong. I shouldn't tell him. I should just... oh God. What should I do?"

"Well first you should tell _me_ who the father is so I can help you plan your next step." Octavia said assuredly, plopping down on the floor beside me. "And then if he thinks he can't handle this right now, I'll beat the shit out of him and be the baby's dad instead. We'll tell everyone it's gay Jesus or something." I couldn't help but smile at that, just a little.

"He'll want to take responsibility. He always does. But he shouldn't have to. This is my fault. I..."

"It was an accident, Clarke." Lincoln said firmly. "It wasn't anyone's fault. And you know as well as I that there is another reason you don't want to tell him."

"This could ruin everything."

"Okay, I'm definitely missing something. Will one of you please tell me-"

"Octavia." I said taking a deep breath. "You swore you wouldn't tell. You swore you'd keep this secret."

"I'll swear again. Someone get me a battle sword, I'll make a blood oath."

"Octavia... it's Bellamy's."

"Wha- you mean... the _baby_!? THE BABY IS BELLAMY'S?!" Octavia's eyes were wide with shock and her mouth had dropped open following her small outburst. She looked from Lincoln to me and back again. "Wait, how did _you_ know it was my brother's?"

"I sort of..." Lincoln swallowed again, uncomfortably. "Saw them."

"Saw them what?"

"Can I not answer that?"

"Ewwww! Oh my gosh Clarke you can do so much better than my brother for a booty call! There are so many Grounders I could have introduced you to! Dude!"

"It's not exactly a one time thing, O. I mean it started that way but... I don't really know what we are now, but it's more than just sex." O's eyes danced around again before lighting up.

"My brother."

"Yeah, O I'm-"

"Shut up. Do you realize what this means?! Clarke, I'm going to be the first Aunt of our people in like a century! More than that even! OH MY GOSH THIS IS EVEN BETTER THAN BEING THE FIRST ONE TO WALK ON EARTH! THIS IS EVERYTHING! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU OH MY GOSH THIS IS THE GREATEST NEWS EVER!"

"This is not going to stay a secret for long is it?" I asked Lincoln.

"If I were you I'd tell Bellamy about your little device malfunction as soon as you possibly can."

"Yes I really- oh my God. Lincoln. The device. From a medical standpoint. Even if it's malfunctioning, it's taking up a large portion of my uterus. A fetus can't really grow normally with that in there, can it?" Lincoln went pale very quickly and looked down to my stomach.

"Fuck." I swore. "Lincoln..." I begged, suddenly panicked. A loud horn blared out. Mountain Men. Damn it. We had to get back NOW or everyone would know we were gone. Bellamy had a tenancy to roll call when there were threats like this.

"Clarke we have to go, _now_."

"That device needs to come out of there now!"

"Tomorrow. Can I come back tomorrow? We can do this then?"

"I'll ask Nyko. He might know something about this historically speaking. He studies old Earth medicine to get ideas for treatment and such. Maybe he will know something that will help."

"Even if he doesn't, this thing is coming out of me tomorrow. I'll say I'm going hunting, sneak out here."

"Do not delay." I shook my head in response.

"Clarke! Come on! Bell can't find out we're gone!"

* * *

 **Bellamy**

Where in the hell were they? Of course the two missing out of this group were my sister and my... girlfriend didn't feel like the right word. We hadn't actually made it that official, and yet it also wasn't... enough. She was more than that. She was my everything. She was... well she was _gone_ was what she was.

"Bellamy!" Her sharp voice spoke up loudly behind me. I spun around ready to question her at length when I noticed the anger in her eyes, making me pause my speech.

"Clarke-"

"Where the HELL have you been?" She asked angrily. O stood beside her, looking up at her a bit panicked.

"Clarke, what are you-" she was murmuring.

"Octavia and I have been all over this camp looking for you! We heard that horn and she was worried so I convince here that there's nothing for her to worry about only to go on a search for you that leads to your being MISSING! What exactly do you have to say for yourself?"

"I wasn't missing! You were missing!"

"We were running around camp looking for you!"

"I was running around camp looking for the pair of you!" I returned. Her face softened.

"Oh god. We were- I mean Octavia was so worried."

"I'm sorry, O."

"No. It's fine. You're here and safe so we're all good. Clarke? Back to our sleepover?"

"Sleepover?" I asked.

"Yeah. O and I are having a sleepover."

"With me and Fox." Another voice piped up. Harper.

"Sorry." Fox said grinning. "When you asked if we'd seen them we thought you meant _since_ they'd run out looking for you. We thought you were trying to meet up... we were confused. That's our bad."

"Oh. No. That's... totally understandable." I returned, nodding. I swallowed thickly, remembering the panic that had set in when no one seemed to remember seeing them. "I guess, we can all just go back to our sleeping arrangements. Stay alert. If the guard or our tech spots any movement we'll be alerted right away." Clarke's eyes seemed to widen and she glanced at O. "What was that?" I asked.

"What was what?" O asked haughtily. "Stop trying to sneak in on our girls night conversations, Bell, it's weird." And with that she grabbed Harper and Clarke's hand and pulled them off towards Fox's hut. Girls were weird.

Instead of focusing on that, however, I focused on how genuinely concerned Clarke had seemed to be. She cared for me too. I knew it, but it was always nice to be reminded.

* * *

 **Clarke**

"Oh my gosh Clarke Elizabeth Griffin that was _brilliant!_ " Octavia whispered excitedly in my ear.

"Bellamy's gonna kill me when he finds out."

"And thanks for covering for us, guys!"

"I realized after Bellamy stormed out that you had probably just snuck out again and I was kicking myself for not covering for you." Harper murmured back. "Saw the opportunity to make amends and I jumped on it."

"Your timing was impeccable." O turned to me. "We need to talk."

"We need someone to make a distraction so we can sneak out again tomorrow night."

"Bellamy's gonna lock us down tighter with this most recent horn. You might have to take the night off."

"I really can't."

"Hey, I know Grounders and independence is fun and all, but I think you can hold off one night." I eyed up the girls beside us.

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Obviously."

"I'm pregnant. My device malfunctioned and I'm knocked up. But the device is still in there and that is going to seriously risk my baby's life or well being and I have to get it out as soon as possible. Lincoln and Nyko are doing it tomorrow night but I have to get out without Bellamy finding out."

"I could seduce him." Fox offered with a shrug.

"Pass." The word was out of both Octavia and my lips before we could even think about it.

"I could fake a broken leg."

"So Bellamy can rush off to get the doctor only to find out she's missing?"

"Right."

"Can we take a break from problem solving?"

"For what?" O asked tersely.

"Clarke's gonna have a baby!" Harper squealed back. Both girls rushed forward to hug me and congratulated me heartily. I smiled. For a second there I had forgotten that there was something to be excited about underneath all this worry.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed! I really appreciate it! What follows is a chapter which has not been checked over for the accuracy of futuristic medical facts because...I don't know how I could check for futuristic fictional medical facts. If someone has that database I would do unspeakable things for it. But as it is, this is mostly made up based on random snipits of modern medical facts and theories on how that might transform centuries from now.**

 **I would LOVE a few reviews! Not only do they inspire me to type faster :) negative critiques also help me improve my writing which is really why I post stuff on this site to begin with. Thanks so much guys! xoxo -E**

* * *

 **Clarke**

"Monty." I hissed in his direction, getting his attention and pulling him away from the group he was trailing aimlessly. "I need your help."

"Are you sure? I was about to go... do whatever they were doing." I stared at him blankly. Monty sighed.

"Jasper and I are trying to infiltrate a few cliques to run a social experiment. It isn't going very well. We may need to think of a new project because everyone instantly starts acting differently the minute we're there and we'll never be able to prove this hypothesis."

"Great. I've got a new project for you."

"Is it fun?"

"You get to trick Bellamy and help Octavia and I sneak out of camp."

"So yes."

"Yes."

* * *

"It's a go." I said with a breathless grin to my partner's in crime. "In 5 minutes Monty and Jasper are going to distract the hell out of Bellamy, we'll be there for the offset and when I try to take control and be bossy, Monty is going to say something which I'll pretend is offensive and then I'll run off. O, you can admonish him - _quickly -_ and then run off after me. Harper, Fox, you too will follow Octavia back to her tent and then stand guard outside. If Bellamy comes to check on us after Monty and Jasper conclude their little performance, then it'll be your job to tell him that O and I are having a private girl chat and not let him in. Meanwhile, we will have snuck out of the back of the tent, out the hole in the fence, and off to Lincoln to get this fucking thing out of me. Are we all good?"

"This is totally going to work Clarke. Don't worry, okay?" Octavia took my arm with a comforting smile.

"About which part, the sneaking out or the saving my baby's life?"

"All of the above." Harper insisted firmly. "Now let's get this show on the road, yeah? I'm dying to see with the wonder twins have come up with." Fox giggled and the four of us made our way out of the tent, casually picking up furs and a couple blankets under the guise of distributing. The moment I looked up, my eyes found Bellamy's staring at me with a look I knew all too well. I shivered. If I didn't have something so important to be doing, that look could get me naked in his bed in 5 minutes flat. I knew it, he knew it, and I was going to have to do something to deflect that attention elsewhere to give Monty and Jasper time to work out their act. I smiled back, but gestured to Octavia with a nod of my head. One of his eyebrows quirked up, slightly confused at what I was intimating. I just smiled and shook my head.

 _"Later."_ I mouthed, biting my lip suggestively. He narrowed his eyes, grinning, with a look that clearly meant he was going to hold me to that. He was such an incredible guy. I loved that we could communicate like this, with looks and gestures, and while it wasn't flawless yet, I was looking forward to the day I knew him and he me that well.

If that day would come. What had come for us instead, I knew was about to completely turn our worlds around, whether I told him or not, whatever I planned to do, I was lying to him now. Sneaking in and out of camp with his sister for help from the person he hated more than anything in the entire world. He may not forgive me for this. Our relationship might end before it really got the chance to start, all because I couldn't find the guts to tell him what was going on just yet. I looked down at my shoes and leaned down to pick at the laces. My heart was pounding. I just wanted this all to be over. I wanted it to be tomorrow, device out of me, no more sneaking out and lying to Bell in the process, my baby safe, I just wanted it to be tomorrow.

"Dude, you're going to drop that." Monty's voice, only slightly louder than usual entered my consciousness and my eyes snapped up. Jesus fuck, what the hell were they doing?

"I said make a scene and distract everyone, not accidentally kill yourselves." I muttered under my breath. Octavia snorted a laugh in response.

"Maybe you should have been more specific."

"Next time I will be. If they get hurt I swear to God I'm walking out anyway. Someone else can fix them up."

"It's Monty and Jasper, they aren't going to get hurt."

"Octavia," I hissed. "Jasper has what appears to be a homemade explosive device balanced on his head."

"Eh. It's not that big. And I doubt it works."

"You mean you doubt it works, _well._ As in it won't go off unless provoked. For all we know, it doesn't work and will blow up without provocation."

"You're right. This is a stupid idea. You should go yell at them...wait, isn't that the plan anyway? See? This is a super realistic scenario they've created!"

"When did you learn sarcasm?" I asked sharply. "Didn't you grow up under a bunch of floorboards or something?"

"Shut up and do your job. I miss my boyfriend and I want to get out of here. While you're recovering we're gonna sneak out into the woods and do it real quick so let's get moving." I had to struggle to wipe the smile that had caused off my face while I stalked over to where Bellamy was already trying to reason with Jasper.

"Dude, what the hell?

"Monty and I are running an experiment."

"By putting a bomb on your head?"

"It's not a bomb! It's a homemade explosive device!"

"THAT'S A BOMB!"

"Bellamy, it's not even finished yet. We're not going to explode it, we're just trying to see if it fits here. For the future."

"Ah yes, the future where you strap the finished bomb on your head and it explodes."

"You're totally missing the point here."

"JASPER!" I yelled, probably louder than I needed to give our close proximity. "What the hell?! This is insanely dangerous! What even is the purpose here?"

"If I explained it to you now, that would ruin our outcomes when we analyze the findings of our research project when we've completed it."

"WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH PROJECT INVOLVES STRAPPING A BOMB TO YOUR HEAD?"

"Clarke, it's a very long, complicated prospectus we've created revolving around a very specific hypothesis. Don't rush the answers out of us. That would be so much work for nothing!" I turned to Monty, using the fire of anger I actually felt right now to light up my eyes.

"Monty. Get the bomb off his head. Now. I don't want to have to attempt to reconstruct his skull when you two idiots accidentally blow it up."

"Shit, Clarke. Don't take out your anger about your mom killing your dad on us, I know I'm your new mom down here on Earth, but I won't kill your new dad, Jasper!" He spoke like it was all some big joke that he'd accidentally taken too far. I could practically feel Bellamy stiffen up beside me. I took a step back.

"Oh so you can yell at us for being stupid, but we cant retaliate?" Jasper asked rolling his eyes. "This is why you'll never get the Bomb Project." I turned on my heal and fled.

"Clarke!" Bellamy yelled out after me.

"No, Bell." Octavia's voice cut him off. "Let me, okay. You deal with them." Less than a minute later, O and I were sneaking out of the back of the tent, Fox and Harper posted at the door, calling in random platitudes like, 'Clarke, can we get you some tea?' and 'Listen to Octavia, okay, she gets this.' and finally, 'are you sure we can't come in?' to which Octavia yelled back.

"Stay out! We need some space right now!" I didn't even want to know what Bellamy was saying to Monty and Jasper, I just hoped they wouldn't hate me too much for making them go through his wrath. Also I hoped that the bomb wouldn't explode. But that was really secondary at this point.

* * *

"Lincoln!" Octavia called out. "We're here!" But it was Nikko's head which appeared at the entrance to Lincoln's caves. Octavia had told me that this was his secret place, that he had another home, a real home, closer to Trikru, but that this was where he only let a sacred few come to. Nikko, me, Octavia, and one or two other friends, that was it. It calmed me a bit that he trusted me this much. It made my trust for him come much more naturally.

"Clarke, Octavia, come in." Nikko said calmly, gesturing us towards them. "Lincoln is preparing." As we walked in, Nikko talked me through what was about to happen. "Lincoln has filled me in on our problem. It was very smart of you to know you needed to get your device taken out immediately. Even broken, it will inhibit the child's grown and cause problems, what is the phrase? Birth defects. This was not an uncommon procedure back when such devices failed regularly, and it was simple enough to find the general process. If it is comfortable for you, Lincoln will perform the procedure, and I will be here to direct and assist if necessary."

"Can you explain it to me? Obviously the devices had to be taken out on the Ark but Conception to Birth was a specialty for the doctors on the Ark that I never really paid attention to. My mom was a surgeon and general healer, that's what I wanted to focus in as well."

"Indeed. It is simple enough. The device is implanted in the uterus, not embedded in the wall as I initially feared, but resting against it."

"How did you find that out?" I asked.

"I spoke with a few contacts who know of such things. The type of device you have was perfected before the original Skikru flew up, and there is much research on it available. It was quite the breakthrough at the time. There was a surgery invented to remove it via a laser beam which would simply break down the parts and allow you to pass it through well before your baby gets much larger than a bean, however that is technology we simply don't have down here. Instead we will be doing something much more simple."

"Which is?"

"Lincoln is going to reach in and get it out."

"He's going to put his hand..."

"Gross." Octavia grimaced beside me. "I don't think I want to hear this." She walked further in and found her boyfriend, greeting him with a kiss.

"Part of the device reaches down below your cervix, so it will be quite simple. Easy even."

"If it's so easy why are there two of you here?"

"Perceptive. For one, we are surmising that there will be excesive pain with this course of action. If you need to be held down, Octavia, while very strong, may not be able to match someone who is fighting like that."

"So you're here to hold me down if I resist."

"With your permission of course."

"Granted. What else?"

"We are worried about opening the cervix so much. We would like to have two of us here so that we can use all the intellect we have if you begin to bleed or..."

"Miscarry. If I begin to miscarry."

"None of our research comments on this possibility, so we don't know if it is a real risk, however, both of us thought of it and continue to return to this possibility and we would simply feel better if we could be prepared to help you as best as we can."

"I appreciate the thought."

"Very good, we have prepared a place to do this-" I gripped his arm.

"Nikko I mean it. I really can't thank you enough."

"You would do the same for us and our people. That much is clear. You are a good ally Clarke Griffin, and a good friend. We are happy to help."

"Are you ready, Clarke?" Lincoln's softer tones cut into Nikko's harsher voice. I turned to him.

"Never in a million years did I think I was going to get fingered by you."

"Never in a million years did I think so either."

"Yeah." Octavia interjected. "I get that it's a funny joke, to equate this medical procedure with a sex act for comic relief and a bit of humor facing the pain you're about to go through, but could we not? It's my best friend and my boyfriend attempting to save my niece's or nephew's life. And I really don't want to think about this as anything else." I smiled a bit.

"Come on, let me have my fun."

"Nothing about that conversation was fun." I smiled softly in return and shifted my gaze towards Lincoln.

"Where do you want me?"

* * *

 **Bellamy**

"Did anyone just hear that?" I asked, looking around, my question being met with furrowed brows and head shakes. I couldn't put a name on it, but I heard...something.

"What exactly are we listening for?" Miller asked, supportively.

"I don't..." How could I explain this? I had no idea how to...I couldn't explain the sound. I wasn't even sure which sound I had heard had peaked my sudden anxiety, I just knew that I had heard... _something_ and that something was currently making me sweat and chew my lip. "I don't know."

"Helpful. Thanks man." I shook my head back in Miller's direction.

"Nevermind." I craned my neck a bit to the left and peaked at Fox and Harper, still standing outside the tent they shared with my sister.

"Are Clarke and my sister still in there?"

"I mean, I did just say something super mean, dude, it's bound to take a while for her to get over it." Monty said, responding incredibly quickly.

"Yeah. But we learned our lesson. We won't be assholes like that again." Jasper continued. There was something off about then. Then again it was Monty and Jasper, there was always something off about them.

"Maybe I should go check on them again."

"Fox and Harper aren't going to let you in!" Jasper piped up.

"I think I can get past a couple teenage girls, but thanks for the confidence."

"Wait!" Monty yelled out. I waited. Nothing.

"Yes?" I prompted.

"I think I need to go and apologize. I'll go talk to her and get her to forgive me-us-Jasper and I and then maybe she'll come out or go to sleep, or something.

"It's not even dark out, why would she go to sleep?"

"Sometimes girls who have been exhausted emotionally need a nap Bellamy, Jesus way to judge."

"I'm not-"

"Yes you are and now you're psyching me out for my super big, very, very, very long apology that is going to take forever because I really need her to truly forgive me not just say she forgives me, you know? So you stay here, and I'll go into the lion's den, and when I get out, I'll let you know if she's there I mean if she's going to be coming out of there or if you should just leave her alone or whatever." I stared at the small boy. Why had I always thought he was some sort of genius?

"Yeah. Okay. Whatever."

"Bellamy!" I spun around at the sound of my baby sister's voice.

"Oh my goodness in all the distraction of this conversation I've been having with my friend Bellamy I didn't even notice Octavia leaving the tent and running around us to talk to us from the other side!" Monty exclaimed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I hissed at him, the real worry I had for him surely reflected on my face.

"Bellamy come quick. It's Clarke."

"Clarke?" Wells piped up quickly. "What's wrong with her?"

"Actually you probably should come to." She said to him. "I think I heard your name in her stream of obscenities too."

"What are you talking about, Clarke is-"

"Not in that tent, Finn, catch the fuck up or shut the fuck up." She snapped back at him.

"But-"

"We snuck out the back like two hours ago dumbasses, now hurry the fuck up I think she's dying."

* * *

 **A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: It's a shorter chapter but the next part isn't flowing very well - not that I'm sure this chapter did either...it's a bit subpar so I apologize. The next few will be better I promise - and I wanted to get you something and assure you that Clarke's gonna be fine:)**

* * *

 _Previously:_

 _"Bellamy come quick. It's Clarke."_

 _"Clarke?" Wells piped up quickly. "What's wrong with her?"_

 _"Actually you probably should come too." She said to him. "I think I heard your name in her stream of obscenities."_

 _"What are you talking about, Clarke is-"_

 _"Not in that tent, Finn, catch the fuck up or shut the fuck up." She snapped back at him._

 _"But-"_

 _"We snuck out the back like two hours ago dumbasses, now hurry the fuck up I think she's dying."_

* * *

 **Bellamy**

I chased my sister through what felt like two or three forests, not just the 10-15 minute trek she'd promised. Clarke was dying somewhere. You'd think I'd have asked more questions when she'd said that. Like, when did you two leave that tent I've been watching it for hours, or why is Clarke dying from exactly, how can we help her, what should we bring, you know. That sort of thing. But instead I just lit out after my sister, running with her through the trees and bushes, not even bothering to dodge as their branches reached out to cut my skin. I knew some people were following me. Probably Wells. Understandably. Probably Finn. Fucker. I didn't know who else. I wasn't about you take the time to turn around and find out. Clarke. Danger. Follow O. It was the mantra and rushed through my head at least a hundred times between each fast paced step. Clarke. In danger. Help her. Just get to her damn it. Where the hell is she? Clarke. Shit of all shit, Clarke. I loved her. I was in love with her. She can't die. She just...she couldn't die. I wasn't going to let her, and curse whatever deity thought otherwise. Clarke. Octavia slowed as we reached a large rock.

"What is it, where are we going?"

"You're here to be helpful and because Clarke needs you. The very minute you are not helpful, I will knock you out and drag you back here, away from her, got it?"

"Octavia!" I roared.

"Just say yes, Bell."

"Fine! Now take me to her."

"She's in here," Octavia gestured to the rock. "It's one of Lincoln's caves, where he meets people."

"And why exactly-"

"She needed help. He's a doctor. I was here the whole time so you can stop your overprotective nonsense. There's no time or space for that right now."

"O-"

"Quick version, all girls on the Ark get devices put in them upon their bodies maturing to stop pregnancy. Clarke's malfunctioned and it was going to hurt-" Octavia glanced around at the group who had followed her. "If she'd have left it in it would have hurt her horribly, so Lincoln and Nikko were going to take it out only its started to implant itself in her uterine wall or something like that which apparently can happen when they stop working cause of something I didn't really understand that Clarke was saying between screams. There are some problems and she's screaming bloody murder and she nearly passed out and was begging for her dad. A few other names came up too, you and Wells and some others I couldn't quite make out. Lincoln was going to take a break until you got back because she needs support or this is going to end badly." My heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears.

"Take me to her." I all but growled.

"Wells." O jerked her head at him, gesturing for him to come it. "The rest of you should wait out here. There's not much space."

"Like hell I am."

"Finn, I will gut you like a goddamned fish if you don't shut the hell up and wait out here." Octavia gripped a knife on her hip while she spoke, adding to the effect of her threat. I would be lying if I said a flash of pride didn't rush through me at that moment.

"But-"

"If she asks for you, I'll kick someone else out and bring you in myself." She promised. "But if you value your life, you will stay out unless I explicitly tell you to come in." Without so much as waiting for a response, O turned to lead Wells and I into what seemed to be a cave of sorts when I heard it. It was the sound from earlier, only now I was up close and personal with that sound. Now I knew what that sound was. Now, instead of casually questioning what had peaked my notice, all I could do was focus on Clarke's blood curdling scream. I had never understood that expression, but as I burst into the small cave, it had become alarmingly clear. Her legs were spread wide apart and a Grounder had his hand between them. Another Grounder was practically laying on her chest, holding her down and her hands thrashed and clawed at the air. After a moment, I noticed that leather ties trapped her feet where they were. If I hadn't been forewarned that there was a medical procedure in place, I'd have thought she was being...my gut clenched as the unspeakable work passes through my mind. My vision was starting to bleed, cloud together, as though everything was being played out on some sort of smoke screen.

I moved towards her but Octavia got in my way.

I don't remember trying to pull them both off of her, but apparently that was why Octavia knocked me out and tied me up. I wasn't out long. How could I be with my soul mate screaming 5 feet from me?

"Clarke!" I cried out, struggling with my binds in an attempt to get to her.

"Lincoln maybe you should stop." My sister suggested. To his credit, the man seemed to follow her instructions immediately until Clarke gripped his shoulder and glared fire into his eyes.

"Get it, out. Now."

"I can't quite get a good grip and I don't want to be finishing around. That would do more harm than good here."

"What good are you?!" She hissed in his face, sweat pouring down her face, mixing with tears. "No! Put your hand in there, get ahold of it, and tear it the fuck out."

"It won't hurt you there Clarke. It's not doing you any harm there you could just leave it."

"Are you fucking kidding me! The whole reason you people are doing this is to help Clarke, if it's not hurting her, then what the fuck are we going through this all for, Jesus fuck Octavia untie me and untie Clarke and get us the fuck out of here!"

"I don't care if taking it out means certain death for me in a year. You're getting it the fuck out of there, or I am. With a goddamned knife. So go fish, grounder." Clarke's every word reeked of anger, desperation, and most of all, threats.

"He's just pointing out-"

"That I could live just fine with it there is heard, Lincoln, but you and I already established the other consequences of leaving it any and you don't seem to understand that that pain would be far, far worse. If you don't take that out soon, my baby is going to die. Let me repeat. Get. It. Out."

"Wells, fucking untie me." I growled. "We need to get her out of here."

"Baby?" He asked quietly.

"What are you talking about? Aha! Got it!" I held up the rope, no longer holding my wrists together. I rushed to her side and gripped her hands in mine.

"Clarke I-" Baby. Her baby was going to die. That's what she'd said. The device had malfunctioned and it wasn't hurting her but it would kill her baby and that's why she wanted it out. A baby. Clarke was pregnant. Oh my God Clarke was pregnant.

"Just...can you hold my hand?" She asked quietly. "Please?" She nodded towards the Grounder but kept staring into my eyes, her fingers gripping mine so tightly it stung. She clenched her jaw, her eyes watering, desperate not to cry out now. The Grounder called out something in their language and Octavia breathed a sigh of relief.

"He's got it." She translated calmly.

"Your boyfriend had it a few times too."

"Don't squirm so much."

"Let me shove my hand up your vagina and start to rip metal that's embedded into your very body out O, then we can see if you start squirming." Nonetheless, she steeled herself and nodded. What followed were some of the most agonizing moments of my life. Clarke, forcing herself to be rigid as the Grounder medicine man ripped apart her very body, her fingers clasping mine too tightly until suddenly, they were holding them at all.

"Clarke!" The word was ripped from my throat. "Dear God, please!"

"She's just passed out from the pain." Lincoln spoke calmly.

"Oh yes, just." I snarled back. "She's just in so much pain her body just stopped. Nothing to worry about there at all."

"Bellamy," He began calmly.

"You all but-"

"Bellamy!" The grounder held up his hand. A piece of Arkian something glinted back at me. It was out.

"Thank God." Clarke murmured, her eyes fluttering open.

"Hey Princess," I murmured quietly in her ear clutching her hand in mine. "You kinda scared the shit out of me there."

"I'm sorry Bell." She whispered back. "You should be, the next time your about to almost die give a guy a heads up, yeah?"

"I mean about the baby." She looked up at me, nervously. I didn't have words to answer that, so I just kissed her instead.

* * *

 **A/N: Thoughts? Review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: It's been an age. I'm so sorry. Here's another quickie to tide you over. Working on the next bit presently.**

* * *

 **Clarke**

"Bell we should talk about this."

"Yeah." He nodded emphatically.

"Oh."

"Oh, what?" He asked, brow suddenly furrowed.

"No! I just thought... I thought you were going to fight me I'm this."

"On what, talking about our baby?" His lips twisted a bit and if I didn't know any better if have sworn he was smiling.

Clarke I am always going to want to talk about our baby." Holy shit, he was smiling. "Now I know you didn't plan this and it's probably hard for you to see it, but just give this a chance okay?"

"Bell..." I wasn't really sure where I was going with that sentence, so I kind of just trailed off.

"So you have the baby, right. And then we raise it, the first member of Skikru born on Earth. But we teach her about the sky, and the planets, and why we were there, but we also teach her about the Earth, and we can get Octavia's help because she's brilliant about Earth stuff. And then she'll be like, this little genius. But she's OUR kid, so she'll also be a badass. And she's going to make us go crazy, but we're going to love her so much. And I'm going to build us a cabin. Or a special tent, if you decide you want Skikru to migrate like some of the other factions, whatever you want, but she'll be warm, and I'll provide for us and we can do this Clarke, we can raise this baby to be freaking awesome!"

"She?"

"In my head she's a she. Oh. And I guess I skipped over the part where I ask you to move in with me. But I want you to. I want you to move in with me. It's sudden. I know that. And you're stubborn and probably want to do this on your own or have your own ideas about her, but I want in. I want to fight with you about when she's allowed to go on her first hunting trip, and I want to cry with you when she falls in love for the first time, and I want to be with you, every step of the way and Octavia told me not to freak you out and say this but she was raised under some floor boards so what does she know? Clarke I want to be with you every step of the way and not just because we're having a baby together. I love you. I want to be with you. Regardless of our baby. I want it to be you and me against the world forever." I took a shuddering breath, and glanced around the little cave. Lincoln had just returned but was kindly looking very occupied with something I knew wasn't actually important right now. Wells and Octavia had gone out to let everyone else know I was okay, but I'd told them in no uncertain terms that they weren't to tell anyone else yet, not until we had a plan and knew what we were doing.

"Bell-"

"It's a lot to take in. I know that. So don't feel rushed, and don't feel like just because I said I loved you that you have to say-"

"I love you too." He took a deep, shuddering breath, and in an instant, his lips had found mine and we were kissing. After a pointed cough from Lincoln, we pulled apart and he grinned down at me.

"We're going to have a baby." He said softly.

"Maybe." I said, my anxiety back in an instant.

"We wont know for weeks if taking out the device hurt the baby, or worse. My pregnancy might not progress and then we'll know that it's..." I trailed off, unable to say the word dead.

"She's not. She's a fighter, like her mom." He smiled softly. "Besides, we can always try again."

"Try again insinuates that we tried the first time. It's an accident baby, Bell. I want to be with you too but if I miscarried, then we are waiting to try at all." He shrugged.

"I'd say we'll discuss it later, but we wont need to. She's fine."

" _She_ is."

"Yup. She is." His confidence was contagious and I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"Lincoln, thanks." I said, reaching out to hug him. Bell looked on, steely eyed, still not fully accepting the man.

"We should go back, now Clarke." Bellamy said, in lieu of a goodbye to the grounder.

"Yeah." I said, "I'm coming." I winced as my nether regions roared in pain for the first few steps. Without a word, Bellamy swept me off my feet - quite literally this time - and carried me out of the cave. I'd have protested, but it felt like a white hot knife had just been wreaking havoc on my vagina. Finn instantly rushed to my side the moment we were out.

"Clarke!" He called out, "Oh my God, we could hear you screaming!"

"Yeah. I'm fine now. Just sore." I wrapped my arms around Bellamy's neck as he carried me forward, his long strides forcing Finn to jog to keep up. I was also tired as hell. I closed my eyes and nestled into Bellamy's chest. He shifted me in his embrace and kept walking forward.

"She's fine, Spacewalker." He said simply. "Let's get her back to camp. And maybe some food when we get there?" Happy to have a job that helped me, Finn raced off toward our little village and had some meat cooked and ready for me by the time we arrived back. Miller kept almost everyone from crowding me, but Monty and Jasper were by my side in a minute.

"Dude. You snuck out. That. Was. Epic."

"Yeah, you gotta show us how to do that sometime."

"You all talk like I'm keeping you locked in here." Bellamy scoffed. "You aren't prisoners. You're all allowed to come and go as you please... so long as you don't mind foregoing the protection of our walls when there are radiation soaked predetors waiting for you. And so long as you aren't my baby sister off to see some grounder boy."

"He's older than you Bell," Octavia chimed in cheerfully. "I don't think you can reasonably call him a 'boy', you know?"

"I can call him what I like, and I'd _like_ to point out that you are not helping your case here."

"He just saved Clarke, and you're still being like that?!" She asked indignantly.

"I believe the agreement was that if you don't bring him up, I wont openly display my wrath to or about him. But you brought him up. So that's on you, O."

"You're impossible."

"I will be really happy if I don't ever see him again."

"Impossible, I say!" She called out loudly as she stalked away, back towards our tent. "Clarke I'm getting your bed ready! The girls and I are gonna watch out for you tonight, make sure you're still okay!"

"Thanks, O." I replied, quietly. I don't know if she actually heard me. I was exhausted. A few bites into my food I looked up at Bell.

"I think I just want to go to sleep."

"Are you sure you don't want to eat anymore?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "I just want to rest."

"In-"

"Octavia will be pissed if I don't stay with her." He nodded, but I could see the disappointment in his eyes.

"Tomorrow though I can probably move out from under my nursemaid..." I trailed of with a small smile. He nodded, sweeping me up again to carry me off towards O's tent.

"Tomorrow then."

* * *

 **A/N: So? Please review! Tell me what you want to see happen next!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: A shortie but a goodie? I hope? I'm working on the next chapter as rapidly as my fingers allow me! Hope you enjoy this one - tell me what you think about it! (*cough*begs for reviews*cough*cough*)**

* * *

"Bell!" I rushed into his tent, shaking his shoulder's rapidly, waking him from a deep sleep."

"Five more minutes, Princess." He moaned into his pillow before turning back on his sides.

"It's been three weeks Bell."

"What are you talking about?" He sighed out, still half asleep. "We had sex last night." I rolled my eyes. Very, very gentle, sex, because Bellamy was not terrified of hurting me after the bruising I'd had post 'operation'. The bruising which had cleared up in entirety less than a week later. I was hoping after this news we could move out of 'prude virgins' categorical of sex.

"It's been three weeks since my device came out. If I'd lost the baby, I would have begun my courses again and my blood wouldn't be testing positive but I did the test this morning and I'm still pregnant which means..." His head shot up off the pillow and he stared up at me.

"She's alive?"

"It's alive!" He sat up in bed and pulled me to his chest, hugging me. "And Octavia got this thing from Nikko, it's kind of like a stethoscope but it looks _nothing_ like one. But Bell. I can hear the baby's heartbeat. It's definitely alive, and definitely still growing!"

"You can- Oh my God, Clarke, you can hear the baby's heartbeat?!"

"Yeah. You wanna come by later and listen?"

"Later? Hell no. We're going right now." Bellamy dragged me out of his tent and up to my _de facto_ office in the drop ship. I put the device up against my stomach and gestured for him to listen. His brow furrowed in concentration and he closed his eyes as he pressed his ear up against the cone shaped device. He listened very carefully for a few minutes and then suddenly, his eyes shot open, his lips parting, his entire face lighting up.

"Can you-"

"Shhhh!" He waved his hand at me and I bit back a laugh as he shushed me, his hands now wrapping around my waist as he listened intently. "Oh my gosh!" He whispered excitedly.

"Ummmm, what are you guys doing?" My eyes shot up. Monty. And of course. Jasper was close behind.

"Dude. What the hell?" Jasper asked, cocking his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at Bellamy. "You know that looks like you're hugging Clarke's uterus, right? Like we're all glad she didn't blow up or whatever the device was gonna do too but you don't see us walking around hugging her internal genitalia."

"Jasper..." I trailed off with a roll of my eyes. I didn't know how to respond to that.

"Holy shit!" Monty yelled out, his eyes widening quickly. "Bellamy knocked Clarke up. Dude!" He turned to Jasper and hit his arm. "You were right! They're totally hooking up and Bellamy knocked Clarke up!" Jasper's eyes lit up and his mouth dropped open almost comically.

"We're gonna be uncles?" He asked, his voice high pitched and his eyes brimming inexplicably with tears.

"Only if you shut up this instant." Gruff Bellamy was back, making demands and pulling the boys away from the entrance which he locked behind them. "Because if you tell anyone else or anyone else finds out because you two are chit chatting away about this, you will be dead. And then you won't be uncles. You won't be anything, understood?"

"Yeah, fine, can we hug Clarke?" Jasper asked, biting his lip excitedly. "We're having a baby!" He squealed.

"No. _I'm_ having a baby." I replied indignantly as the two boys walked slowly towards me with their arms out. I had nowhere to back up to, they were literally cornering me against a wall.

"Oh get over yourself Clarke. This is everyone's baby." Monty replied. Jasper reached me first and enveloped me in the slowest, most awkward hug I'd ever experienced. Until Monty grabbed my head and hugged that at the same time. Because that was definitely worse.

"Bell. Get them off. Now." I begged, wide-eyed.

"Let them be excited now. Because as soon as this moment is over, they can't talk about it. Not at all. I don't care if they think it's just the two of them. No one else will know until we tell them." I nodded.

"Fine." Jasper, Monty, I swear to God, if you tell anyone-"

"Lips are sealed, mom."

"I'm not your mom."

"But your _a_ mom."

"Jasper. I'm going to punch you in the face. Monty, keep better control of your boyfriend."

"Why do people keep saying that?" Monty exclaimed. "Is it a bromance joke or do people actually think we're together? Is that why Tracy Marks turned me down the other day?"

"Tracy Marks turned you down because she's a psycho bitch. She tried to kill her own parents when she was 13, Monty, you can do better."

"I can change her!"

"No you can't!" He sighed. "Okay."

"Ask out Emilie Shin. She's quiet, nice, she was locked up for something totally banal, and you two can bond over being halvsies Asian." I advised.

"Way to be racist Clarke."

"Just say thank you, Monty."

"Thank you Monty!" He called out proudly as Bellamy gripped the boys arms in his hands and pulled them towards the door.

"Remember. Not a word. Not to other people. Not to each other. Not even to us. You don't breath a _word._ " After they'd been shoved out the hatch he turned back to me.

"We're having a baby." He said with a smile. I nodded, biting my lip.

"Yeah. We are."

"You know something weird?" He asked, walking towards me.

"What?"

"Knowing that we're having a baby makes me _really_ want to fuck you." I smiled.

"Thank God." I breathed out, pulling him into my arms and meeting his kiss as passionately as I could.


	9. Chapter 9

**I need to fast forward a bit to get to the next significant part of this story, so this chapter is short, and it's just a series of snapshots that will keep you up to date as we progress into the next chapter. Review with what YOU think should happen next! xoxo - E**

* * *

It had been three months. I had been pregnant for three months. Mind you, I hadn't known about it the whole time so my feelings as to how the time was flying were completely justified. Thus far, Octavia, Fox, Harper, Monty, Jasper, and now Miller were the only ones who had found out. Bellamy was using his 'extra-scary face' to keep the lot of them in check. We hadn't told Miller, nor had he walked in on anything that would give him damning evidence. He just pulled me aside one day and said he knew and that if I needed to talk or anything, he was there for me. Then he gave me a hug (a normal one - take note Monty and Jasper) and smiled at me before ducking out. I'd asked him later how he knew, and he just said that he watched people, it was part of his job as a guard, and something he'd done really well at in pre-guard training on the Ark. He was good at reading people, noticing differences, and putting together the pieces; he was intuitive. He said he'd known about me and Bellamy for a while and then after the whole situation where we'd snuck out and Bellamy had returned carrying me, he'd been keeping his eye on me to make sure I was okay, and he just figured it out. He promised he wouldn't tell but joked that it was shocking Finn and the others who'd gone with Octavia to find me hadn't figured it out. Shit. Wells too. Wells also knew. (I kept forgetting about him.) He wasn't really acting like he knew. Maybe that was how he was dealing with all of this - by just acting like everything was normal. We were about to make contact with the Ark. Monty was sure he was facing a breakthrough with Octavia's tracker. Bellamy and I had talked long into the night about what to tell them. We needed to alert them to our new, burgeoning treaty with Lexa and the other Grounders. We had technology that they just didn't, and while we needed their help - or at least their agreement not to kill us all - to survive down here, we were just as valuable to them in fixing some of their outdated/broken tech. Monty and Raven had both already gone over to lay down some of the good will groundwork, fixing up their rundown and broken machines and what have you, if for no other reason than to prove our worth. We needed to let them know that Earth was safe, but that it was inhabited, and that we needed permission and guidance if they intended to land. We needed to guarentee Bellamy's pardon. I'd decided that I would talk to everyone about that, and after a long brutal silent treatment towards Bell from Wells, he'd agreed begrudgingly to add his own profession that Bellamy should be pardoned if for no other reason then that my child needed his father, and Wells knew that if Bellamy took off, I would follow.

The biggest question of the discussion, was whether or not to tell them about my current... situation. Initially, Bellamy had wanted to tell right away, to get all the medical advice and help from my mom so that I would "never again have to rely on the Grounder for help". I told him he was being ridiculous. I also told him that if my mom knew, she might try to put a stop to it. The wristbands had the power to do a lot, and I still wasn't certain of their full capacity. An electric surge might be enough to harm our baby and I wasn't about to take that risk. Of course then Bellamy wanted me to just take it off, but I reminded him of my pledge that the only way the Ark was thinking I was dead, was if I was dead, and that the cuff had some positive applications as well, as a way for _me_ to track my vitals and health throughout this pregnancy.

"Let's just not tell her. I'm not ready for the judgement and pressure to terminate yet." His hand tightened its grip around my fingers at my words and I saw him clenching his jaw as well.

"Yeah, no that makes sense." I read the truth in his eyes. He was hurt.

"It isn't you, Bellamy. It wouldn't matter whose baby this is, she wouldn't want me to have it. My mother believes very strongly in marriage."

"Then maybe we should get married." He insisted stubbornly.

"No. I am not marrying you because you want to have a pissing contest with my mother." I replied. "Look, we'll tell them all eventually, I just think now isn't the best time. And we're gonna have to tell the rest of the hundred well before we bring this drama to the Ark. I want the treaty with the Grounders signed and the Arkians on board for how any attempts at future landing will work within the bounds of that treaty well before we anger my mother and throw a whole bunch of wrenches into that engine, okay?"

"Fine. But only if we can go back to the part where you talk about how you're pregnant with our baby." He replied with a salacious grin. I laughed as he launched himself at me, pulling me into his arms and kissed me, his hands cupping my ass pleasantly. Sex with Bellamy was one thing, but sex with pregnancy hormones? Well, needless to say, Bellamy was happy to keep up with my increased need for him... and then some.

* * *

I was six months pregnant and it was getting a lot harder to hide my stomach from the Ark. It helped that the connection was static and fuzzy at best, but we had to be sure that if I was going to be talking to them, I had to be already seated in the shot, or someone would have to block the camera "accidentally" when I came in frame. And if they wanted me to leave so they could talk to someone else... well usually Monty "knocked over" the camera and I dashed out before they could tell. The furs we were wearing helped too. Winter was bitterly arriving and true to our treaty with the Grounders, they had helped us implement winter measures in all of our housing and we had set up a trade deal to help buy clothing for all of the 100. The look on Jaha's face when the screen had lit up to show us in our new garb for the first time had been priceless. Oh yeah, in case I hadn't told you, Jaha was still alive. Bellamy hadn't killed him. My mom had saved him. That had helped get Bellamy his pardon, that and Wells getting up in his dad's face and saying that if he didn't pardon _all_ of the 100, _including_ Bellamy Blake as promised, then we were going to work with the Grounders to ensure that the Ark would never land. And if they tried, we would blow them out of the sky. And if they survived and came looking for us, we would fight tooth and nail to protect our own. Especially Bellamy Blake. Actually the whole thing had been a bit disconcerting, what with Wells threatening to wipe out the entire Ark over a single person, but it had done the trick. I'd forgotten how scary Wells could be when he tried.

Point was - they didn't like it, but the Ark had cleared Bellamy of all wrongdoing. It was a good day.

* * *

I was 7 months pregnant.

So why the hell did it fell like I was going into labor?! He wouldn't survive now! Probably anyway! It was Earth! This wasn't high tech Ark where they can raise they baby after 4 weeks in their incubators if necessary, this was Earth! We had a lot of tech now, thanks to Raven and Monty working with the leftovers from the Grounders, but medical tech wasn't exactly high on the priority to-do list! There weren't incubators! Or machines that could help him breathe if his lungs were underdeveloped! He would die! Oh God this wasn't happening. This wasn't happening!

* * *

 **P.S. If you are looking for a new fandom - PLEASE check out Still Star Crossed! It's a continuation of Romeo and Juliet and it's on ABC (American ABC) and it's incredible! The network isn't throwing a lot of money at it and its... well it's hella predictable but still nerdy and wonderful and I LOVE it! Please watch and support so they don't cancel! It's an amazing show that really deserves a lot more than the network is giving it so the fans have to intervene! Please! (Plus you're gonna love it!)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: So there has been some confusion about the timelines here - largely because I did NOT plot this out and I hadn't really sat down and counted things out. I knew Clarke would be giving birth/the Arkians would be arriving in mid winter (spoilers, oops:) but other than that I didn't really plan much. I don't know when canon landing for the 100 was, but it was clearly summer. So...let's say late June? providing I counted to 7 correctly, that makes this January-February. I'm a northern midwest girl so June is still fairly chilly, but where they landed (virginia-ish) it would be warmer...also it would be warmer because global warming. Actually no, scratch that, humans haven't been living on the planet with the intent of distroying it for hundreds of years, let's say that the summer would be warmer because radiation and stuff, and that winters would also be colder because a world with much fewer humans without their awful 'tech' would send Earth back a few hundred years in terms of it's health and a few hundred years ago winters were colder and summers were hotter so yeah...that works without disrupting canon, yes? If I've made a mistake PLEASE tell me, but for the purpose of this fic, it's now let's say the first week of February.**

 **I hope that eased up on the confusion rather than added to it but I'm really not sure so... here's what you actually came for:**

* * *

 **Bellamy Blake**

Her screams were going to haunt me forever. That one Grounder, Nikko, Octavia had said I think, he was here, trying to help her. But he kept glancing up at me with that 'it's not good' look on his face. I hated that look. I hated the desperate, painful look in Clarke's eyes. I hated the hopeful, angry look in Octavia's eyes. Perhaps I should explain that. I refused to let her bring her boyfriend here. So she was angry. He had been trying to get that _thing_ out of CLarke for hours without success, meanwhile, Nikko had gotten it out on his first try. Nikko was my first choice for medical attention. Also there was the small fact of I hated Lincoln and I refused to let him near my wife or my child. Well not wife. Girlfriend. But girlfriend felt like a hallow, empty word when it came to Clarke. She was more than that... she was my forever. And wife was the word that described that better than any other I knew. I supposed I should ask her to marry me. Maybe there was some Earth ceremony we could do instead of the ridiculousness that wouldn't really apply down here that we did on the Ark.

Another bloodcurdling scream split into my subconscious. This was just like when she was having the device removed. She was in the same sort of pain. I hated to see her in pain. God but if I could do this for her I would.

"Do something!" I snarled at Nikko.

"Lincoln would know better what to do."

"Why?! Aren't you a healer? Didn't you help her before?"

"Yes but..."

"But what?!" my words were no better than growls at this point.

"I study ancient medicine. I study the science. Lincoln, he studies the people side of things. My understanding of anatomy, and the history of medicine, and the basic, cold hard science of it all, that's what I do, young man. But Lincoln has birthed more children than anyone I know. He is a natural healer. He would know what to do now. You should fetch him."

"You know the science. So you know what to do." I replied coldly.

"Bellamy!" Octavia screamed back. "Does this sound like some fun thing for Clarke? She needs the best, my niece or nephew deserves the best! I know you don't like him, but Lincoln is the best we have down here. Unless you want to call her mother up on that radio thing and ask."

"No!" Clarke and I yelled out simultaneously. Clarke had asked for a few hypothetical questions. Preparation, she had told her mother. Strategy for the unknown. In those questions, it became clear that Doctor Griffin thought that young children, particularly infants, had no place in our tribe on Earth until we had survived at least a few years, ready for anything this new world threw at us. It had become clear that she thought termination would be best, and that the Ark would likely recommend a mandate against Skikru's procreation until we were settled in on this planet. We didn't know if that carried over to the termination of already born children, or children in the process of being born, so trusting her advice at this point... it wasn't the plan.

"Just... Nikko. Please."

"I will try what I can, but it is my opinion that Lincoln should be fetched." I swore.

"No." Clarke's eyes closed and I saw a single tear stream down the side of her face. I couldn't watch her like this. I swore again. "Octavia, do not leave her side until I return."

* * *

 **Clarke**

And here I thought having a small peice of metal removed from your uterine wall hurt. Turns out, giving birth was worse. Giving birth with almost no information because the radiation had killed most of Earth's technology was especially worse. He was alive, that much was clear. His heart was unusually strong, Lincoln had said before Bellamy had insisted that I could have anything I wanted so long as Nikko took over my medical care. I liked Nikko, and Lincoln had been fine with it, so I had acquiesced. It was important to Bellamy, and so I let it go. For now. We'd discuss it later after I shoved a baby out of my vagina for him because that certainly earned me some brownie points in this relationship. Nikko had agreed that the heartbeat was often very strong, but once in a while, he and I both thought there was a bit of an echo to the heartbeat. I'd been worried but he had insisted that it was just the instrument that we were using to listen. Given the lack of tech involved, I was inclined to believe him. But now I was having a baby before 8 months and I was less enthusiastic about it. Bellamy had stormed off, and Octavia was muttering her murderous thoughts about that under her breath. Again, I was inclined to agree. I needed him. God but I needed him right now. Wells was here, eyes tightly shut, as I wasn't about to let him see _anything_ of what was happening down there, but he was here, holding my hand and being his usual, optimistically cheerful self, reassuring me that everything would be okay. So where the hell was Bellamy?!

* * *

 **Bellamy**

"Lincoln!" I yelled out gruffly waiting for the man to exit his cave. He did so within a minute, eyes darting about confused.

"What are you doing here, Bellamy?" He asked, instantly concerned. "Is Octavia all right?"

"I think you know by now that if she wasn't I wouldn't be leaving her side just to tell you about it seeing as I don't want you near her anyway." I replied gruffly. He nodded, looking slightly appeased.

"Why are you hear Bellamy?" He asked again.

"Nikko said... Clarke went into labor. Early. Too early. She's not doing well." My voice cracked and I had to take a deep breath to steady myself. "Nikko is doing all he can but he said... he said you were the best. And O is right, Clarke and my baby deserve the best. We don't get on and I know that and I know you don't owe me a thing, but I am begging you. Please. Help me. There's nothing I can do for her now, but you... I need you to save her Lincoln. The baby too if you can, but... I can't live without her. I need you to save her." Lincoln walked away. He WALKED AWAY. Back into his cave. Away. Fucker. Absolute-

"I have my bag." He said, stepping back out with a leather pack. "Lead the way." Damn it. Now I had to be nice to him.

* * *

"Clarke!" I gasped our her name as Lincoln and I practically fell through the door I was pulling him along so fast. I glanced at Nikko. "Update. Now."

"She's not pushing. But the baby is definitely coming. Her water broke, it's time."

"IT IS NOT TIME! IT HAS BEEN 7 MONTHS!"

"Closer to 8 at this point, actually." Nikko pointed out analytically.

"NOT CLOSE ENOUGH AND I DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS THIS BABY NEEDS TO STAY IN!

"He's not going to, Clarke." Lincoln said, kneeling by her side. "He wants to come out. He's ready." He looked at her. "With all the radiation down here, we deal with a _lot_ of premature babies. I know you don't think we have the proper tech for this, but a premie, we can handle, okay?"

"You can't let him die, Lincoln. You can't, not after everything, okay? You have to save him, okay? You have to- OH MY GOD!" She screamed again and her body curled up into itself. I rushed to her side and took her hands in mine.

"This is the time when you would do that pushing thing we talked about Skiheda." Nikko said dryly.

"You always did have shit bedside manner." Lincoln muttered. In English, I noticed, so it wouldn't seem like they were talking behind our backs. I knew Octavia would understand either way and let me know if something was suspect, she cared too much about Clarke and this baby not to, but the gesture was still appreciated.

"Come on Princess, I got you your favorite healer, okay? And Lincoln is gonna take good care of you, and of our baby. And once you push him out, we're going to get to hold him, and take care of him, and he's going to be fine." I said soothingly in her ear.

"Yeah Clarke," O added. "You get my niece out of there. She needs to hang out with her Auntie O."

"He can't die." She whimpered, gripping Lincoln's hand.

"His best chance of survival is if you push him out, Clarke." He replied, looking deeply in her eyes. "You have to push, or I'm going to have to cut him out. And I don't think Bellamy is going to let me cut you up like that." She glanced my way, and must have seen something in my expression when he mentioned slicing my baby out of her because she instantly nodded and turned back to him, grabbing my hand.

"Okay." She sniffed. "Okay, tell me when."

"When the next contraction hits, start to push, okay Clarke?" She nodded and a few seconds later she screamed again, squeezing my hand so hard my fingers turned white. By the proud look on Lincoln's face, however, she was pushing.

"Good, Clarke, good. You're doing great. It's going to be just like that, each time. He's small, so once you get his head out it'll be easier than usual. That's good, this is all good Clarke. He's just trying to take care of you and make this as easy as he can, coming early like this." She grimaced, but I think it was supposed to be a smile.

"Okay."

"Clarke!" A loud noise came bursting through and suddenly Finn was in our hut. "I heard her screaming, is she okay? What can I do?"

"GET. OUT." Clarke all but growled at Finn. The boy had been nothing but infuriating over the past 7 months. When he and Raven found out about our impending bundle of joy, he had grown sullen, and quiet, and had confronted me on watch, attempting to defend Clarke's honor or some nonsense, saying I didn't need to be stuck with her, he loved her and would take responsibility. Of course what he hadn't known was that Clarke was sneaking out to meet me that night and heard the whole thing. Her cover had been blown when she burst out laughing at that and for all intents and purposes had told Finn to go fuck himself, go back to Raven, and leave us alone because we were together whether he liked it or not. He was still a pain in the ass for the next handful of months, following us around, and trying to prove he'd be better for Clarke than I would be. It would have been laughable if it weren't so annoying. The best part was, he was so wrapped up in getting Clarke back, he hadn't even noticed when Raven started hooking up with a Grounder friend of O's. Some warrior guy who made Lincoln look like a nursemaid. Finn had tried to retire to Raven's bed one night, out of habit, or thinking he was expected or some nonsense, only to have her Grounder boyfriend drag him out to the middle of our village, and tell him in no uncertain terms to leave Raven alone, and that if he ever tried to climb into bed with them again, he'd be missing some appendages come the next morning. That had given me a smile for weeks.

The thought of our village made me smile again, even now. With the help from our new allies and trading partners, Trikru, and some other nearby tribes who wanted to trade with us, we had assembled a working village in under 7 months. We had real industry booming here, we traded for some clothing, but much of it could now be made by our own skilled craftsmen, who were apprenticing under Trikru. Our guard were better too. The warriors took some of them in, Miller, and a few others, and taught them about fighting on earth, about what we needed to guard ourselves against, from the Mountain Men and their gas, to the radiation soaked animals, and even the possible threat of Ice Nation, who didn't want us in the alliance. Clarke was insistent she would work out a separate treaty with Ice Nation after she'd given birth so that we could rest easy in regards to them. I told her we would wait and see. We had a handful of ambassadors, we had a large number of huts, even one long cabin which we could use as a mess hall, a place to work, and a place to meet. It would hold a few hundred people, so we could entertain Grounders as well. It would also likely be the temporary place of residence of the Arkians who came down until more permanent accommodations could be filled. If everyone survived the decent, each cabin would have to take on an extra five people for sleeping, and a few winterized tents would be set up for those who didn't fit in our hall, or our cabins, but it would work. If they really didn't want to stay in tents, Raven's boyfriend had offered lodging in Trikru, for rent. We would negotiate that when the time came. Which was in a month and change. The baby would have been born by then and we would have had a few weeks to get into a rhythm and get used to everything. They Ark would land in a wasteland area miles away from us. Not enough miles if you asked me. When they sent the drop ship down, we missed where we were supposed to be by a few miles, which meant that if they missed, they could land on us. But any further and we risked them landing on one of the other tribes, and further yet, they would be in the ocean, which in the winter, would be terrible at best. So here they landed. They insisted that they could land accurately, and Monty agreed to help coordinate landing points, and to help update their maps to the actual locations and landmarks that existed now. Once they landed, we would ride out and fetch them in. And then they would be here. And they hopefully wouldn't kill me. And they hopefully wouldn't try to lay a finger on Clarke or our baby. That second hopefully was for them, because even if they got to me before I could kill them for trying to harm my family, the entire 100 and our allied tribes would follow Clarke anywhere, and they would be in a massive war before they even got to her. Her screams woke me up from my thoughts, and I was pulled back to her side.

"Bell, I can't do this. I can't. Please." She begged. I glanced at Lincoln and he confirmed with a nod of his head that this was normal. I climbed up on the cot behind her and pulled her up against me, between my legs, lying on my chest, hoping to support her.

"Yes you can, Princess. You can do anything. I've seen it. I know this is hard and I wish I could do it for you, I do, but you can do it Clarke, you can. And I'll be right here the whole time. We're going to be fine. Our baby is going to be fine. And as soon as he is in your arms, and you are in mine, I am never letting either of you go, okay?" She nodded and gripping both my hands again, she steeled herself and stared at Lincoln, waiting.

"His head is out, you're pushing his shoulders out and then it's one big push and he'll be in my hands, okay Clarke?"

"You can see his head? His face? What does he look like?" She sobbed out. "Is he breathing?"

"He wont start breathing until he's all the way out, so you've got to push, okay Clarke?" With that, her entire body tensed against mine, and with a scream of both pain and determination, Clarke pushed.

"Yes! Good job Clarke!" Lincoln called out, proudly. I glanced at Octavia, who had the best view of our baby, and she looked back at me, horrified with what she'd just seen. Once glance back at Clarke and the baby, and Octavia fainted dead away."

"I got it." Wells said kindly. Huh. I had forgotten he was there. He went to Octavia and lifted her easily in his arms carrying her away.

"Why isn't he crying?!" She asked anxiously. As if to answer his mother, our baby started to cry. I felt Clarke relax into me and let out a sob of her own. I held her tightly in my arms and murmured in her ear, telling her how proud I was and how much I loved her.

"You can hold him for a moment, but you'll have to deliver the afterbirth. That's more uncomfortable than painful." Clarke nodded, holding her arms out for our baby.

"You were right." Lincoln said as he wrapped the baby in a blanket. "Octavia will be so upset. It's a boy."

* * *

 **A/N: Names? I'm back and forth between Names that mimic what people on the Ark are called, and names that are more similar to the Grounders, as Clarke and Bellamy will want to cement their son's place in the future not in connection to their past. What do you think! Please Review or PM me with ideas!**

 **xoxo - E**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note: Sorry to leave you with such a cliffhanger! So instead of waiting forever to post the next chapter...I got a move on. (I actually had this finished within an hour of posting the last chapter, but I didn't want to confuse people who saw the update and went to the last chapter and missed a whole chunk of plot so I did wait at least a little bit.) Hope you like it! Anyway it's been four days so I think I've waited long enough! If you haven't been on this fic in the last four days, go back and make sure that you read the last chapter or this will NOT make sense. xoxo - E**

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"Why isn't he crying?!" She asked anxiously. As if to answer his mother, our baby started to cry. I felt Clarke relax into me and let out a sob of her own. I held her tightly in my arms and murmured in her ear, telling her how proud I was and how much I loved her.

"You can hold him for a moment, but you'll have to deliver the afterbirth. That's more uncomfortable than painful." Clarke nodded, holding her arms out for our baby.

"You were right." Lincoln said as he wrapped the baby in a blanket. "Octavia will be so upset. It's a boy." He placed our son in Clarke's arms, and, with mine wrapped around the pair of them, for the first time in a long time, I felt like we were safe.

"He's so small!"

"Yes. But he's breathing fine. He will need to stay extra warm and as he grows we can check for cognitive or other disabilities but he looks like he'll be just fine. His heart is beating a touch on the fast side, but Octavia's heart is the same way, as is yours, and I suspect that most of Skikru would be the same. It is likely normal."

"Oh. Yes. I should have mentioned. Resting heart rate on the ark was 60-100 beats a minute, but we also had a controlled oxygen level and an otherwise controlled environment. There was a theory that back on earth, in the alternate atmosphere, it would range a bit highter. 70-120."

"That seems correct. We'll have to monitor that long term to see what effects that will have, but overall, it shouldn't be terrible." Clarke nodded, looking down at our little boy.

"And his breathing?"

"Normal. It took him a little extra, but normal." He turned to me. "Bellamy would you like to cut the cord, or..."

"Oh... um..."

"Why don't you just do it, Lincoln, Bellamy and I are enjoying our son." Lincoln nodded and did as she asked, reaching up to take him from us.

"What are you doing?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"I have to tie off his umbilical cord."

"You have to what?"

"Earth practice. They don't fuse it off down here, they tie it in a knot. Didn't you pay attention in history?" Clarke asked with a smile.

"No." I replied honestly. "Is that safe? That's not some, out of practice method that's dangerous or something, is it?"

"No, Bell. It's perfectly safe. Mom did it sometimes when another doctor was using the fuzer. I'm pretty sure Octavia didn't get her umbilical cord fused either."

"Sorry, fused?" Nikko asked, evidently intrigued by the idea.

"Instead of knotting it, the doctors fused the base of the cord to create the belly button. The only real difference is that babies didn't have the extra bit of cord on them until it falls off, it's instantly gone. Some people think it's easier to deal with as parents, not to worry about something that ridiculous, so it was more for the parents' benefit than the baby."

"That's fascinating." Nikko breathed. "Do they-"

"Nikko I promise I'll tell you all about it, but not today, yeah?" He nodded at Clarke's proclamation In a moment, Lincoln had made a knot and I vaguely remembered my mother making the same action on O. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, I huffed, impatiently.

"Are you done? Can we have him back now?" Clarke smiled at me teasingly, but nodded to Lincoln.

"Of course. Does he have a name?" I looked at Clarke and she looked back at me.

"Name. We planned everything, literally, everything, from how we would begin his education, to which Grounder warriors should teach him to hunt, to three different cradle designs which you and Wells and Miller actually built, just to have backups in case our plan didn't work, and even how we would teach him about how babies are made... and we didn't think to pick out names." I looked down at my princess and then to my nameless son, and laughed.

"You're alive, he's alive and in our arms, we have 18 million plans for him, and we never even thought of what we'd name him. It's not funny but... oh my God it's hilarious!"Clarke bit her lip and burst into laughter too. We sat there, huddled together with our son, laughing, for what felt like the first time, in a long, long time.

It was slightly less funny when Octavia found out we didn't have a name yet not 30 seconds later when she burst back in, having regained consciousness and her usual energy. After the thorough admonishing we received from her, she then proceeded to suggest all manner of names that ranged from acceptable to ridiculous. We decided that for now, he would be nameless. Clarke was squirming in my arms.

"Time to deliver the afterbirth. I know you don't want to Clarke, but why don't you let Bellamy have some bonding time with him." She nodded and handed him to me. I removed myself from where I still sat, propped up behind her, and held my son. My _son_. I had a son. He was beautiful, too. He hadn't opened his eyes yet, but I hoped he had Clarke's eyes. Her eyes were stunning. He was paler than I was, but darker than Clarke. Of course he'd been in a womb for the past 7 - almost 8 - months so he could be forgiven for his lack of tan. Now that I thought about it, he looked like what O and I looked like when we were on the Ark, without sun. He would tan in the summer, and he would look like me. He had a small amount of peach fuzz hair that was a nondescript blondish color atop his head. Maybe that too would darken like mine, or maybe it would lighten, and he would inherit that from his mother. His feet and fingers were the tiniest things I'd ever seen, he was so much smaller than Octavia had been when she was born, and I remembered thinking how tiny she was. I was wrong. He was smaller. His hand wrapped around one finger and I felt him squeeze. Tiny, but strong. That was good. He would need to be strong. He was the first Arkian born on Earth. His parents had grown up in outer space, but here he was, on Earth. A small droplet of water fell on his head and I looked around for a leak in the ceiling. Damn. It wasn't a leak. I was crying. But who could keep from weeping at this site?! This was my _son_. This was Clarke's son. Our son was here, in my arms, and he was breathing on his own, his heart was beating... she was worried it wouldn't be, but she had nothing to fear. Our baby was strong.

"I thought you said this wouldn't be painful." Clarke gritted out to Lincoln.

"It's possible you tore a bit, delivering, and that the afterbirth is irritating that."

" _You're_ irritating me." She grumbled, her hands gripping the sheets she lay upon. Lincoln's head disappeared between Clarke's legs and he frowned.

"It's the afterbirth, Clarke, I can see it. I promise, you're almost done." She took a deep breath and scrunched up her face. I wasn't at an angle where I could see what was happening - and I wasn't completely certain that I _wanted_ to be at an angle where I could see what was happening - but Lincoln's face held no fear or worry, and in a moment, a small bit of flesh was in his hands. "See? Afterbirth. You're done."

"You know if you don't want to sound like some mystic healer with no real training, you could just call it a placenta." Clarke suggested haughtily. I frowned. She often got snarky when she was in pain. "Ah!" She cried out suddenly, wincing and grabbing for her stomach. "I can't remember, Lincoln, are after birth contractions a thing." He frowned then, and that's when I knew something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

"Octavia take him." I whispered, handing her my son and rushing to Clarke's side. "What's wrong, Doc?" I tried to tease her. "What hurts?"

"It feels like contractions." She groaned, doubling over. Lincoln was doing some sort of exam that I couldn't be bothered to watch because Clarke's face looked like she was being stabbed. And I could say that, because I _had_ been stabbed.

"It's gonna be fine, okay Clarke? Lincoln's gonna take care of you, and the O will give us our son back, and then we will find a name for him, and raise him and be awesome parents." Her eyes started fluttering and her body tensed up.

"Keep her awake." Lincoln said, gruffly. "Her body is trying to pass out from the pain, but I need her to stay awake." He sounded frantic, so I didn't ask. I let him do his thing, and I worked on my job.

"Come on Clarke, wake up. What are you thinking? About names? We could name him Jake, after your dad." I suggested. "Hmm? Do you want to name him after your dad?" Her eyes bore into mine as she fought her own body for dominance, struggling to stay conscious.

"No." She squeezed out between tightly pressed lips. "Not Jake. Bad luck."

"What do you mean, bad luck?" I asked, just trying to keep her talking.

"Floated."

"Unjustly."

"Still bad luck."

"Okay, so not Jake. I refuse to call him Bellamy Jr. That would be confusing. O? Any name ideas?"

"How about Alexander?" She smiled.

"I'm named after his sister, because Bellamy was going to take care of me like Alexander took care of Octavia."

"I like Alexander," She breathed out, gasping for air, "but I don't think it's right. Maybe. We can consider it. What else?"

"Good," Lincoln said. "You're doing great. I think you're past the point of loosing consciousness. You can stop talking and save your strength."

"Maybe, but this is an important discussion! Our baby is nameless!"

"And he's going to remain nameless for a while longer." Lincoln insisted. "I feel a head."

"You what?" I asked, completely thrown off. He looked up, straight at Clarke.

"I can feel a head. There's another baby in here. Your son has a sibling."

* * *

 **Octavia**

"They had a baby!" I called out as I woke up in Wells' arms. Raven looked at me like I'd just dropped her favorite toy. (And yes, I still called all her techie stuff 'toys')

"No shit, O. She's been preggers for a while and then started having contractions. Try again. Is the baby alive?" I blinked.

"I think so."

"You think so?" Raven repeated, angrily.

"I kinda passed out when it was born. Didn't actually get that far. But probably! I mean it's Clarke and Bellamy. They're gonna be great parents. I'm sure their baby will be fine."

"You seem very calm for an aunt. Are you sure?" I paled.

"No. No I'm not sure. Oh my gosh I have to check right now!" Raven rolled her eyes and turned back to Alixir. I was so glad I'd started the trend of hooking up with Grounders. It was good for us. Gave us some cred, where the Arkians just wouldn't have any when they got down here. Stupid space people. I grinned. I had a niece! I was sure it was a niece, and I was sure she was fine, but _just_ in case, I should go check.

* * *

"Okay." I said, 20 minutes later to the crowd of people braving the cold just to wait and find out what was happening. They were stupid. If this weren't my ACTUAL NIECE I would be waiting for news, nice and toasty warm in my hut, cuddled up with a particularly good looking Grounder. Whatever. They were here, so I would give them the news. "They had a baby. It's a boy. It's alive. They never actually came up with any names, which is stupid of them, so everyone think of your best suggestions, but there's more news."

"Screw the news!" Fox called out. "We want to see baby Bellarke!"

"Yeah!" Monty yelled. "We're all uncles and aunts out here too, not just you and Wells, let us in!"

"First off, I think you'll notice that Wells was only in there when Clarke needed him. Then he stepped out. Maybe it's because he knows that while all y'all _THINK_ you're aunts and uncles, I'M the only REAL aunt here and I deserve to be-"

"Come on! We want to see the baby!" Alixir cut in in Tregedisleng. I responded likewise, carefully translating my words.

"What the hell, Alixir? Since when are you baby crazy?"

"Everyone loves babies, Skyling." He said, using the nickname a few of the Grounders had coined for me when I first started hanging out with them all the time. It was often meant as an insult at first, but I knew most of them used it as an endearment now. "Also, the Trikru kids think that any baby born to people from outer space probably looks like an alien and I don't _think_ they're right, but I do want to double check." I shook my head at him before switching back to my native tongue.

"You're ridiculous. No one get's to see the baby yet. Nikko is taking care of him. Meanwhile..." I grinned broadly and scruntched up my body, excited to share the news. "They're having another baby!"

"Ew. They're having sex? What the fuck, O? Why would you tell us that?"

"No you perv!" I hollered back at Harper. "They're having another baby, right now. My nephew has a twin!" I could practically feel the shock that was emanating from the hundred. Twins used to be a curseword on the Ark. If you had permission to have a baby, and you ended up with twins, they were both terminated, and you had to undergo extensive testing and therapy to rework your system to make sure it never happened again and the only way to opt out was to forgo your right to even a single child. The word 'twins' usually evoked a strong feeling of sadness and anxiety, as the chemical therapy was extremely painful. But this wasn't the Ark. This was Earth. And we could do whatever the hell we wanted down here, including having a small horde of children. So twins, wasn't a curse word. Siblings, wasn't a crime. Things were different. This was happy.

Alixir was the first to be excited. (Obviously, in his experience twins was a blessing, a sign of bounty and good luck, not a curse.) Raven's excitement kicked in after that.

"Oh come on you tools." She said loudly to everyone else. "This isn't the Ark. Guys, we just got _two_ nephews and we only had to deal with hormonal Clarke and somehow even more hormonal Bellamy the one time! That's two for the price of one!" I sighed in happiness as people started to show the appropriate amount of excitement. There it was. That was what I had wanted out of them.

"So like I said, think of a LOT of names!" I called out. "I'm going back in to check on our nephews!" Monty and Jasper cheered at my use of 'our' and I grinned at Raven who rolled her eyes at me good naturedly.

"Don't let them name them something stupid before they even talk to us." She said, as kindly as Raven could. She glanced over to Finn's cabin and sighed. "I'll go check on my idiot friend, make sure he's not miserable or whatever."

"He probably is."

"He'll move on. He moved on from me, real quick, down here on Earth. He'll move on from her when he meets his next infatuation." I nodded and squeezed her hand before returning to my growing family.

"You're almost there, Clarke!" Lincoln's voice greeted me when I returned into their hut, hurrying to stand by the roaring fire, moving my finger tips in an attempt to regain some feeling. Shit but winter was colder than I'd thought it would be! Clarke was crying, and sweating, and gripping onto my brother like her life depended on it. Jesus fuck but I was _not_ having kids. This did _not_ look like fun. She let out another scream of pain, still somehow sounding determined as she wailed, and squeezing Bell's hands, and leaning forward, she pushed. Lincoln instantly reached for one of the warm blankets, and wiped off the baby's face. It was smaller than the first, and I hadn't thought that possible, as my nephew was the tiniest thing I'd ever seen. And it didn't move. It wasn't moving, it wasn't crying, it wasn't doing anything other than look a bit purple.

"Okay, Clarke, I need you to take a deep breath for me." Lincoln said, glancing at Nikko who held my nephew.

"What? What is it? Why isn't he crying? His brother cried - so he should be fine too! Right?"

"Lincoln!" Bell growled when he didn't answer Clarke.

"The baby's not breathing. Be paitent."

"Be patient?! My baby's not breathing!" Clarke instantly sat up, and with a strength I didn't know was possible after doing what she just did, she leapt to her feet and hurried over to Lincoln.

"Give him to me." She demanded, taking the baby from Lincoln. She laid it down on the bed she'd been upon and knelt on the floor, pressing on the tiny infant's chest.

"Her." Lincoln said softly. "It's a girl."

"Clarke went to work with the sort of savage clarity I usually saw from her when one of our own was in danger. This was her element. And she wasn't about to just give up and let her baby die. She wiped the slime from the baby's face, and held her up, patting her hard on the back. Really hard. I didn't know hardly anything about babies but she seemed too small to be hit that hard. But it was Clarke. Clarke knew what she was doing. We heard a small whimper, and Lincoln breathed a shuttering sigh of relief. Bellamy took it as a good sign and he too, visibly calmed. But not Clarke. She frowned and felt the tiny baby's chest.

"Her heart beat is erratic. She can't sustain this. Her body isn't getting proper oxygen."

"We could try compressions, but that's usually for when the heart doesn't beat at all. There's no promise that her heart won't beat between our pushing on it which would mean we are basically doubling her heartbeat." She glanced at Lincoln. "I don't know what to do." Her voice cracked and he smiled sadly.

"I'm not promising anything." He said quietly. "But I've seem this work sometimes when a baby can't figure out how to beat it's heart, or how to breathe properly. Do you trust me?" Clarke nodded frantically. Lincoln took my niece and gestured for her to lay back on the bed where Bellamy still sat. She nestled back into his embrace, sucking up what little comfort she could from his panic ridden frame. Lincoln pulled the baby from the blanket she rested on, and carried her to the couple. He laid the baby on Clarke's chest and nodded. "Let her feel your heart beat. Sometimes, they figure it out when they feel how it's supposed to be." He smiled sadly. "Sometimes not. Good luck." He backed away, and pulled my arm, moving me away from them as Bellamy and Clarke tried to save their daughter. We reclaimed my nephew from Nikko and I held him in my arms, rocking his softly and whispering to him how his momma and daddy were going to save his sister, real soon, and how everything would be okay. I glanced over and saw Clarke help Bellamy divest himself of his shirt. Okay. There was literally no way he was too warm right now. It was a bit chilly, even with the fire and heat from Clarke's recent exertions. She passed him the baby, and let him hold her against his chest, skin on skin. Clarke's hand ran down the baby's tiny, little back, and then she turned to me, and reached for her son. I handed him to her without question, and looked forlornly upon the family who might loose one of their children in an instant. Lincoln wrapped me in his arms and I held on tightly. Clarke's hand reached for her daughters neck, feeling for a pulse. Suddenly, she burst into tears.

"No." I shuttered out. Oh god...no." My hands rose to my face, cutting off my own words, not wanting to take spotlight in a moment of grief for Clarke and Bellamy. She shook her head violently.

"No. She's... oh God her heart's slowed." Her head rested on Bellamy's shoulder as she held her son, and looked down proudly at her daughter. "It's normal. A bit fast, but then again... for us Arkians, that's normal." She looked up at Bellamy. "You saved her." She whispered as he reached down to kiss her. "She's alive."

"They both are. You are." She pulled her closer to him with the arm that wasn't holding his newborn in place on his chest and kissed the top of her head, hard. "Oh my God Clarke. I thought... you're all fine. My son. My daughter. You." He looked up at her. "Marry me." He whispered. My eyes flew open. Oh hell no. Oh _hell_ no. He had not just proposed in the most unromantic, unremarkable way, without so much as an acorn to give her as an engagement gift. It was a whim! My future sister in law deserved more than a whimish proposal! Oh I was going to _kill_ him. I was going to rip his head of and use it for target practice. That absolute idiot! Clarke had better slap him across the face and demand a proper proposal. She had better-

"Yes."

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 **A/N: Thoughts?! Please keep sending me name suggestions - for both genders now:) - Thanks to all who have already sent me some via review and/or PM, I really appreciate it and I am still considering most of them! Keep up the awesomeness! xoxo - E**


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note: So this whole fic was born out of an idea I had where the Arkians - Abby specifically - would come down expecting to take charge and lead on this new world, and all of a sudden they see these children they sent to die, having thrived, dressed like Grounders, knowing things about Earth they couldn't have imagined, and both by the default of their superior knowledge and legally - based on the treaties they had made, these children are now in charge of them and they have to defer to their judgement here on Earth. I also had this picture in my head of Abby being so thrilled to see Clarke and try to explain the whole 'Jake' thing to her meek daughter who would of course come around to logic, only to find her dressed in furs, with her hair braided back, full Grounder style, holding her baby, a tall, dark, and ferocious looking Bellamy beside her, holding their other child, the pair of them now leading Skikru instead of Abby, Jaha, and Co. This whole thing has been leading up to that point and I am going to try to get it into this chapter - thought with all the content I have to include to introduce that, the chapter may be insanely long and/or split into two parts, but just so you know, that's where this is headed. I hope you enjoy! Please review!**

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 **P.S. I have been posting in short succession, so please make sure you've read the previous chapter(s) before moving onto this one!**

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 **Clarke**

Monty wanted to hold them aloft from the dropship, in front of everyone and make them all sing Lion King. Bell and I vetoed that, but I'm still pretty sure that the only reason he didn't sneak them out while we were sleeping and do it anyway, was because O pointed out that it was so cold, it wouldn't actually look like Lion King until springtime. I had no idea how she knew that... we watched Lion King like twice on the Ark, ever, and I'm pretty sure she was locked under some floor boards at the time. It seemed insensitive to ask, but then again, I had just given her a niece and a nephew so maybe I could anyway... I'd revisit that idea later. In the meantime, I focused on this whole... mother thing. I didn't really know how to do it. I knew that betraying their father and getting him killed was probably not the way to go from personal experience, but beyond that... how did I do this? And how did I do this on Earth? On the Ark, there were these mommy and me classes, a name that had stuck around from Old Earth, and that forced an entire group of mothers whom had given birth to their only child, to learn together. The funny thing was, when O brought it up as a joke to Lincoln he nodded seriously and said that Trikru had Mommy and Me classes too. Of all the things that had transcended a nuclear war, and made it through two separate populations of people, one living in the sky, and another on radiation infested Earth, I really hadn't thought Mommy and Me would be it. But it was. So here I was surrounded by a bunch of Grounders from different tribes, trying to hold two squirming babies without Bellamy because while he clearly wanted to come with, there was a problem with the Ark landing next week, and it would be suspicious to the council if both our 'leaders' were not present to assist. A kind woman came over and said something to me in a foreign language.

"Sorry." I mumbled back. "I'm still trying to learn Tregedisleng." She nodded as if understanding and walked away. The mom next to me, a tall woman with sharp cheekbones holding a very still baby whose wide eyes kept surveying the room smiled kindly to me.

"She's from the Lake Villages. They don't speak Tregedisleng and barely any English, so you wouldn't have understood her anyway." She said. "I'm Alta. Trikru. Second baby, so I don't really need to be here, but the second time moms helped so much last year I thought I'd lend my assistance this time." I smiled.

"Clarke. Skikru. Only Skikru mom because my birth control device got zapped by a faulty electrical fence. Oh. Also the first of my people to have twins in over a hundred years. Also the first of my people to legally have a second child at all for the same amount of time. I'm a bit out of my element." Alta laughed.

"Yes, Nikko told us about the customs in regards to children. So none of your people have siblings then?" She asked, intrigued.

"Actually Bellamy, the other Skiheda and Octavia, Lincoln's girlfriend, or whatever they are, they're brother and sister." Her brow furrowed.

"Oh, I thought-"

"Their mom refused to terminate. Pretended to do so and had Octavia in secret. Bellamy helped raise her under the floor. When they found out, they floated their mom, Bellamy got demoted to janitor, and Octavia was put in lockup - our prison, I guess."

"Floated?"

"Executed." I replied grimly.

"And they put Octavia in prison? For what, being born?" I nodded.

"On the Ark, there's no room for extra people, we were over populated as it was, not enough oxygen, not enough food, and so if you were over 18 and convicted of any crime from petty theft to murder, you got floated. If you were under 18, you were put in prison, and your case was reviewed when your 18th birthday came about. Then they decided if you should be given another chance, or floated too. Almost 85% of juvenile delinquents were floated on their 18th. Hell of a Birthday, huh?"

"So Octavia was released on her 18th then, and got to come to Earth?" Alta asked, clearly disturbed by our vile customs.

"No, actually. She only turned 18 a few weeks ago. We were all prisoners. They didn't know if Earth was livable, and the Ark was running out of time. They had to make sure before they sent everyone down, so they sent a hundred prisoners... well, Bellamy snuck on to protect his sister, but the other hundred of us were prisoners. Who cared if we died, right? They were going to float us eventually. We were to be pardoned, if we survived. Funny thing is... once they get down here, with all the treaties we signed and agreements we made on behalf of our people, they're not really in charge anymore. They can pardon or not all they want, we're in charge of them."

"They should be tried for their crimes." Alta snarled. "Putting innocent children in prison, executing for petty crimes? They should be on trial!" I looked down at my children, imagining their fate had they been conceived on the Ark. Dead. Both of them.

"They will be." I promised.

"This conversation took a slightly dark turn." Alta said with a smile. "My fault. As per usual." She held up her daughter. "This is Faite. Her older sister, Pieta, wanted a brother so badly that when she was born, she sighed so dramatically and said she guessed it was fate. We took it as a sign." I smiled.

"We haven't actually figured out the names yet. Nothing seems quite right."

"We had that problem with Pieta. Found her name in a book two weeks after she was born. When you know you just know. Don't worry, it'll come eventually." I smiled at Alta.

"Mommy and Me hasn't even started yet, I already feel like a better parent and I made a new friend. This class is awesome." Alta laughed and nodded.

"A few by the looks of it, everyone's scoping out the Skiheda with her badass premie twins who ended up being just fine. You're kind of a legend already. I don't think friends are going to be hard to come by around here."

* * *

 **Bellamy**

"Where's Clarke?" Her mother asked. Angrily, wasn't the word to describe her voice, and it was too calm for frantically, but she was clearly upset that her daughter wasn't present in this discussion.

"She's out hunting." I said levelly, gritting my teeth to keep from yelling the words at her. Jesus, I'd already told them this half a dozen times. Did they just not believe me?

"It's been an hour!"

"Do you have any idea how long hunting takes? And they're looking for a large section of game which means they can't use guns or they'd scare the rest of their prey off so they're using bows and arrows and knives and I get that you wouldn't have a clue about this, but let me fill you in. Stalking prey to get close enough to kill it with a knife, takes a long ass time. Clarke's one of the best at it. She can walk practically silently. First one to pick that trick up from the Grounders. Your daughter is a genius. Are you appeased now, Counselor? Can we get back to politics?"

"Please." Raven added bitterly. "Listen up Ark. Because you're landing the whole damn Ark, your ejection spot is going to have some extra drag on it, what with the massive hunk of metal you're hurling through it, so the worry that you land on some of us is still pretty prevalent in a lot of our minds. The Grounders too are worried, and since y'all don't want to be badass and land in the ocean, we've come up with a new mark. It means moving your landing date up a few days, are you prepared for that." Their technician nodded and Raven gave that approving look which was barely any less violent than her usual look. "Good. I'll get you the equations after Bellamy reminds you of all the rules."

"The rules?" Abby repeated. "You mean your little treaties."

"I don't know how many times I'm going to need to explain this to you. There are lethal forces down here. They will kill all of you the moment you break treaty. Clarke worked so fucking hard to get these sanctions and agreements in place so that they wouldn't kill us and so that they would team up with us against the Mountain Men. We're holding our own against the Reapers and Mountain Men for now, and we're hoping that Dr. Griffin will be able to help the healers down here with the anti venom for the Reapers, return our own to us once they've been taken, that's part of the treaty, actually. If you do not comply, you will not be protected under the treaty, and they will kill you. I know you think you're all powerful with your guns and your high tech, but you will not even see them coming in enough time to shoot them. They will kill you. Or maybe they just won't warn you when the Mountain Men release their acid gas clouds and then you'll die. Or maybe they'll set loose a herd of radioactive predators into your camp, and then you'll die. Either way, I know you all think you're tough shit, but you're nothing compared to these people. And if you do not subject yourself to the treaty's rules or Skiheda's command, you will not be protected. And I know some of you have kids in the 100, so I'd like to add that these are the same kids you all sent to die. And Skiheda, and The Commander, and our treaties, they saved them, and they took care of them, and to be honest, half the kids are romantically seeing Grounders at this point, so you're really not going to convince them to run away. They are loyal to Skiheda, and they are loyal to the Tribes. So if you want to be involved in their lives, if you want not to die, if you want not to be run out of our territory and abandoned to the violent whims of Ice Nation, you will follow the damn treaties. It's not actually asking you that much." Jaha sighed, and a few of the counsellors looked thoroughly terrified, while others bore the expressions of petulant school children, disbelieving my convictions.

"Please, can you review the main points."

"You will submit yourself to the rule of Skiheda, whom has promised fealty to the The Commander, the leader of The Thirteen Tribes. Right now, the 100 acts as the 13th tribe, and we have vouched for you, meaning that you are under our protection. If you break the treaty, we have the right to break ties with you, and allow the other tribes to enact their own punishment or retribution for any acts you commit. We also have the right to deny any individual or individuals who act against Skiheda or the Tribes sanctions in Skikru. You may duel with other tribe members as you wish, however both parties must agree to the duel, and without a proper duel in place, murder is not allowed in the tribes. Sort of."

"Sort of?" Jaha asked, his eyebrows rising.

"Fighting and sparing is a way to determine who is in charge. If someone wanted to become commander, they could do so by attacking and killing their current heda. However each heda has been lethally trained in combat, including our own, and you will not get very far by trying. The Commander cannot be anyone, each tribe can have anyone as their heda, but the One Heda must be a night blood. I'm getting off topic, we can explain much of this when you land. The important part is, don't agree to duels, they don't mean with guns, they mean with swords and sticks and their bare hands, and you will die. Don't go against orders from Skiheda, or the commander. Any other heda's rule you may choose to follow, but if you feel it conflicts with your tribe's ruling, you may also choose to ignore it. Dr. Griffin, you must help fine tune the antidote. Clarke can explain that more once you arrive. Specific rules and regulations will be taught to you in pieces upon arrival, but down here, we all do our part to help our tribes survive, but if you don't like the job you are in, if you wish to learn another trade or elevate yourself, there's no one stopping you. We have a myriad of punishments that fit the crime, we don't just murder every petty thief. You will submit yourself to Skiheda's rule. That is really the essence of this treaty allowing you to land."

"What is a Skiheda?" One of the Councillors asked.

"It is derived from the Grounder languages. It means Commander of Skikru. Which is the name of our tribe, given our decent from the sky."

"Who is Skiheda?" I smiled.

"You'll have to wait to find that out."

"It's clearly him." One of them grumbled.

"She most certainly is not Bellamy." Raven piped up. "She's way prettier than Bellamy, and definitely more lethal." She turned to me and actually smiled. "I mean I totally thought she was going to be a wuss, but did you see Indra teaching her and Octavia the other day? I'm pretty sure she could kill me if she wanted!"

"She definitely could, but most definitely wouldn't."

"Thank God for that." Speaking of Octavia, my little sister burst through the door.

"Heda is here. She wants to hear them make their promise immediately." I could see the shocked looks on the councelors' faces when they saw O's appearance. She was in full Grounder garb today, black makeup streaming down from her eyes, hair braided back like a warrior, furs wrapped over her leather clad shoulders, tight leather leggings and a tunic to match. I nodded at her.

"Send her in. I believe they are ready." I turned to the camera. "Do not offend her. She will-"

"Kill us. Yeah. We got it." Abby Griffin said. I smiled.

"You're getting the hang of this Dr. Griffin." Lexa strode into the tent in her full glory, her terror inducing guard following her with some of their most impressive weaponry. She said something confidently in Tregedisleng and Octavia bit back a smirk before replying slowly and gesturing to the camera. I moved and allowed her to take my seat.

"I am Lexa. Heda of all the Tribes. Have the Skihedas explained to you that you are to submit to their leadership lest you be shot down out of the sky before you even land?" She spoke with such superiority, there was no doubting her words.

"Yes. I am Jaha. The Chancellor on this Ark."

"Not anymore." She said matter of factly. "You are a citizen, under protection of The Skihedas. The moment they cease to vouch for you, you will likely be a dead citizen. You are not in charge anymore, sir." She replied. She turned to me.

"Skiheda, where is she? I had hoped to speak with her."

"In your village actually." I said, cautiously. Octavia quickly chirped out something in their clipped language. I was actually pretty amazed at how fast she'd picked up on it.

"They don't know?!" She asked in awe.

"We don't know what?" Jaha asked, suddenly on his guard.

"Who the other Skiheda is." Octavia said immediately. "She'd probably want to tell you herself, but as she's not here, and you seem very tense, we'll just tell you." Nicely covering up the children thing, O. Brilliant.

"It's Clarke." I said. "She and I were elected as commanders. We lead Skikru. If you cannot follow us, you should know now, for now is the time to declare allegiance in front of The Commander." The pause which followed was long, and for a moment, I was afraid they would laugh in our faces, promise to nuke the whole planet and kill us all, and all our treaties would be for naught. Finally, after a few, heart pounding minutes, Jaha nodded slowly.

"We agree to the terms."

* * *

 **A/N: Yup. I had to split it in half. It got too big. I'll update soon thought! xoxo - Please review or PM me with name ideas!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: It's short cause I need you all to give me some feedback before I go forward...they come up with some name options by the end of this chapter! Please vote via reviews or by PMing me! xoxo - E**

* * *

 **Abby**

The camera clicked off and I could hear the telltale sigh of tensions being released.

"Dear God, who was that woman?" Counselor Grady asked. "She looked..."

"Savage." Another filled in.

"Yes! Savage. Is this who will lead us? Unintelligent savages?"

"No. Our children will be leading us." Counselor O'Neil said bitterly. "We will be led by juvenile delinquents.

"Technically Clarke turned is nearly 19 years old, and Bellamy is what, mid 20s?" Jaha said evenly. "They aren't children. And he was right. We sent them ahead, as emissaries. They know Earth better than any of our Earth tutor. They have created treaties and made it safe for our landing. We owe them a great deal, and the likelihood of our dying without them, is high. We follow them. For now. Then when it comes time for a new election, whomever wishes to run, may. Personally, I am prepared to hand over that mantle to them, and spend time fixing my relationship with my son." I winced. Wells hadn't quite forgiven me or his father for our part in Jake's death. It had ruined his relationship with his best friend, and he had yet to get on the camera and speak with his father. it looked like Jaha planned to change that on Earth. Clarke too had been distant. Lately she was always off on this hunting trip, or at a meeting in the capital city with the counsel. It made sense. Political life was complicated and took time, but wasn't that why there was two of them? Should Bellamy Blake be doing some of that? And the last time I'd seen her... weeks ago, really, she'd looked pale, and her cheeks were a touch puffy. Like she'd been crying? I sighed. When we got to Earth, I'd be taking care of my child, too.

They weren't wrong, about the savage looking Commander. Of course this was a new Earth, one with horrors our ancestors never could have imagined. And maybe 'savage' was what it took to survive. God knows some of our own had begun dressing in furs, and taking on the looks of the native people we'd seen today on the camera. Furs I understood, it was winter, it was cold down there. The rest of the style... for what purpose, children? To fit in? There was a reason children didn't lead our people. Clarke may be strong headed and a natural leader, but she needed time to mature, to grow before she was ready for that challenge. She'd see that soon. We would take over their responsibilities, give them time to just be children before too long.

* * *

 **Bellamy**

We decided on a Grounder Ceremony. Lexa officiated. It was simple but beautiful. Wells and Octavia were our witnesses, they held our nameless twins as the rest of the 100 and a fair number of curious grounders watched. I took her hands in mine, and swore to love and cherish her and our children as long as I should live. She swore the same and my heart pounded just a little bit faster. Someone had woven a few vines of bright red berries in her hair, and I couldn't help but wonder where they'd found such a vibrant plant in the middle of winter. I'd borrowed a nice set of clothes from Lincoln. I tried not to think about that too much. I was getting married. I needed nicer clothes. He had some. End of story. We weren't friends or anything. Clarke looked devastatingly beautiful. She wore a red dress she'd gotten from God only knows where and it hugged her curves pleasantly. They cut our hands and we mixed blood, their binding ceremony or something. Then Monty said we had to throw in at least one Ark tradition and so he rigged up some speakers and played bad music. We'd danced. A lot. I got to hold her close. I got to hold my babies close and dance with them. I even danced with O for a while. I drew the line at Wells. A one month engagement was a short time, but the Ark would land in a matter of days, and we wanted to be married before then. My thoughts were twisted, muddled, in the wrong order, but none of that mattered. All that mattered was that Clarke was my wife. For evermore.

* * *

 **Clarke**

I watched my children in their crib, my daughter, wrapping her arms around her brother protectively. The needed names. We needed to name them. Bellamy walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around me.

"Lily." He said. I shrugged. "Yeah me too." He agreed to my wordless comment.

"I think Octavia was onto something earlier though." I said. "They were born on the ground. They don't need Ark names."

"So that gives us a good reason to tell Monty and Jasper that we're not naming them Monty and Jaspira."

"Thank God for that." I smiled. "I kind of like Sky." I said of the name he'd suggested earlier. "But..."

"The Ark shouldn't get to claim them. We are Grounders." I nodded.

"Damn. I really liked Sky. It just doesn't _quite_ fit..."

"Plus you can't name her and leave him nameless. That wouldn't be fair."

"It should be a pair of names."

"Nadia and Aidan."

"Why?" I asked.

"Aidan is Nadia spelled backwards." I laughed.

"Okay, not awful..." I sighed and gripped his arm. "Ignore them for a moment."

"Impossible. They're too cute." I laughed as his serious tone.

"I mean it. Forget we're naming _them_ and let's just talk about names in general. Yeah?"

"Okay." He agreed. "Alexander. I like the name Alexander."

"Okay, why?"

"When O was born, mom told me about the legend of Alexander and how I was going to be like him, and how I was going to protect her. And when it came time to name her, mom asked me what we should call her and I said that Alexander had a sister, a sister named Octavia." I smiled.

"I like that. So Alexander?" He sighed, looking down at them.

"It just doesn't suit _him_." He said.

"Okay. Moving on. What other names do you like?"

"No, no, no. It's your turn. What names do you like?"

"I've always loved the name Ophelia, but is it too close to Octavia?"

"No. It's beautiful! I like that. Ophelia." He said happily.

"It means help." I said softly. "I think she might do that, help people. They're always trying to take care of each other, and that's how I want to raise them, to help others."

"Ezra. That means help, too." Bellamy volunteered. "Ophelia and Ezra." I nodded.

"Maybe."

"We don't have to decide yet. What else?"

"You'll laugh."

"Well now you _have_ to tell me." Bellamy insisted.

"I thought... Apollo and Artemis. Because of the twin thing. And because they're strong names and they're gonna need to be strong." Bellamy kissed my head. My _husband_ kissed my head. I smiled at that.

"I like that too." He said. "So which do they seem like, Ezra and Ophelia, or Apollo and Artemis?"

* * *

 **A/N: PLEASE. I NEED HELP DECIDING. VOTE. Ezra and Ophelia, or Apollo and Artemis? What should I name the twins? As soon as a bunch of people vote, I will get the next chapter up! xoxo - E**


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: Thank you all for all the feedback! Sometimes I get really stuck on a story and I love that I have an audience who is reading it in real time who can weigh in! I appreciate it! Please also feel free to reach out via review or PM to give me other ideas or suggestions with what you are hoping to see from this story! I am kind of winging it here so now that the Ark has landed I'm not totally sure where to go! Please give me some ideas! Pleeeeeeeeease! Anyway... on with the show!**

 **Also - I only just posted the other day so be sure you have read the last chapter!**

* * *

 **Bellamy**

Clarke was frozen, and not just because of the frigid mountain air. The Ark had landed. Successfully, apparently. And as nervous as she was that everything was about to change, that her treaties and plans would come to naught because of the Arkians, it was still her mother in there, it was still _people_ , and Clarke cared about people. She had been worried, but we'd received the Radio call that beyond a few treatable injuries, and one casualty, everyone had survived. The casualty had been an older woman, heart attack while re-entering the Earth's atmosphere. Sad, but understandable. Now we had ridden out, several teams of Grounders flanking us visible, and a few hundred more waiting, hidden, tucked away out of the Arkian's view, ready to step in if needed. The Grounders, Trikru especially, like to be both subtle, and visibly intense, all at once, I'd noticed. Lexa was in Polis, she hadn't come out just yet. The threat was too high, Clarke had told her privately. They might have sworn allegiance, but these were people who were trained to survive above all else, who had it ingrained in them that the survival of the group was more important than the individuals. It wasn't personal. It was all business. And we were going to have to train them out of that before anyone with a gun went near Lexa. She listened to Clarke, like she always did. It had occurred to me more than once that Lexa held a bit of a flame for Clarke. Clarke probably would have reciprocated if I hadn't gotten to her first. I smiled. But I had gotten to her first. And then I went and knocked her up, just to be sure. It was cavemanish of me to be proud of that, but hey, I was a grounder now, closer to caveman than Arkians had ever been. Maybe it was okay to be a bit possessive. Internally, anyway.

Clarke gripped my arm and nestled closer to me, attempting to gain some shelter from the cold, both literal - it was _well_ below freezing - and figurative - she was terrified. I wrapped my arm around her and kissed the crown of her head.

"Everything's going to be fine, Princess." She glanced at me.

"Where is he?" She asked, worriedly.

"Octavia took him a moment ago." I said, soothing her. She had handed our daughter off to one of her grounder friends, leaving me holding only our son, but my sister liked to take whatever child she could and coo to them about being their aunt and how they didn't know it yet but it was historical, and she was a legend, and how they were going to love her the most. We let her because it meant she wasn't saying those same things to us. Clarke nodded and turned back to the steaming hunk of metal before us. The Ark had crashed right where Monty had predicted. They had landed, radioed, we'd ridden and driven out. (Where Ice Nation was getting fuel for these Jeeps I didn't know but I also wasn't planning on asking. They scared the shit out of me.) Raven, as it turned out, was a kick as driver and got us to the rendezvous point in record time, and now we were waiting as a small, dark horde of people made their way through the snow and ice towards us. It was awkward, to be honest. It was really, really awkward. We just stood here. Waiting for them to approach. Watching them make their way wide eyed through the snow as they stepped food on Earth, something they certainly thought they'd never get to do. Awkward. So. Freaking. Awkward.

Finally they drew near enough that faces were made out, and a few of our people ran forward to great parents and friends. Jaha and the rest of the council made up a small grouping near the front, but not quite at the first lines. Wells stepped forward and with a look at Clarke - to which she nodded, I didn't totally understand their wordless language but they seemed to be able to communicate with only looks and nods. I'd be jealous but Clarke and I had been doing that a lot lately too, and Wells was clearly into this Grounder girl who couldn't be bothered to notice he existed... man that boy had a type - and he went to hug his father. He led the pod towards us, and Lincoln stepped in front of Octavia, shielding both O and my son from their attention. A few of the guards also stepped closer to Clarke and I, protecting the Hedas. Lexa had lent us some guards as we learned the fighting skills the Grounders had grown up training. I was all right. My size and previous training on the Ark made some of it natural, but a few moves I struggled to protect myself from. Clarke on the other hand, despite being a new mother and rather new at this defensive martial arts of sorts, was picking it up like candy, and had taken to it naturally. She even sparred with Lexa from time to time and more than once came close to besting her. I looked down at the council, at the man I'd shot to get to my sister, and I wondered, not for the first time, what they were thinking of us.

* * *

 **Abby**

Earth was... indescribable. It smelled nice. _Really_ nice. But it was freezing. Literally. They'd warned us that as it was winter, it was still cold and that we'd need to bundle up, and get extra clothes and reinforce our boots and basically, be prepared for the cold. They said they had some clothes for us to add to whatever we brought, and that housing had been arranged, _for now_ , and that we would have warm places to sleep while they sorted out building a larger community. They said a lot of things, actually. A lot of things that didn't make much sense. They'd been here for less than a year. Ten months, maybe? And already they had treaties, and a form of government, and they hunted, and built huts, or something, and had learned to survive and thrive without us. It didn't make sense to me. They were still children. Clarke was 18. That other boy, the one who had shot Jaha and who was now our king or something - okay so I hadn't paid _that_ much attention to what they were saying when they weren't talking about Clarke - he was what, early to mid twenties? They were still children. And As much as I trusted Clarke, she didn't need to take on this burden. She needed time to be a child. it had been robbed from her when she'd been thrown in solitary confinement. Her going to Earth was supposed to help with that, to give her back some of her childhood, not to force her to grow up too fast. As we got closer, we could see a large mass of people waiting at the rendezvous site. Large. More than 100 children, that's for sure, kind of large. And they were clearly Grounders. They rode horses, or stood stoically in the snow. A few paced around. They wore fur, and dark colors, and even from a distance, it was clear that several had painted faces. War paint, perhaps? We were walking here with the sole trust that our own children wouldn't send us into a trap, and that was after we locked them up in prison and sent them to Earth to maybe die. That was a hell of a lot of trust. But still, we walked. As we got closer, a few of them broke rank and hurried forward. I was surprised to see that I recognized some of them. They _were_ from the Ark. Not all of them. I was certain that a few of these people were Grounders to the core, but a large portion of them were ours. When Wells stepped forward, I followed his path up the slight incline to see where he'd come from. Sure enough, he'd been standing by her. My daughter. My Clarke. She stood beside Bellamy Blake, the pair of them looking like something out of a dramatic story. She wore a thick fur cape, and her hair was braided back intensely from her face. There was a black paint of sorts drawn around her eyes in a geometric pattern. She stood tall, and it was clear that the others were looking to her for direction. Bellamy stood beside her and it took my breath away for a moment to see them there. They looked like a pair, like partners, they looked like extensions of one another. He was dark, while she was fair, but their furs matched as did their expressions. They were calculating us, seeing what risks we might pose. I knew Clarke had found out about her father. I knew that she no longer trusted me as she used to. But I would do anything to earn her trust back. I wanted to run to her, to hold her in my arms again, but something held me back. I met her eyes and I couldn't help but start to cry at seeing her again. She softened slightly, and took half a step forward, before thinking better of it, and stepping back to Bellamy's side. Wells reached us and hugged his father.

"Thank God you all made it safely." He said, genuinely. Why don't the two of you come up and say hello to Clarke. I'm sure you're anxious, Mrs. Griffin." I smiled at him and gave him a quick hug.

"Thank you, Wells. How is she?" He smiled.

"Happy." He replied. "She's really, really happy." He pursed his lips before leading us forward. "Please, just... don't wreck that this time."

* * *

 **Bellamy**

Dr. Griffin wrapped Clarke in a teary hug, and said all the right things. She said how sorry she was. That she would work to earn back Clarke's trust. That she was so happy to see Clarke alive and well and how she'd been so sad that Clarke hadn't been able to make any of the video meetings we'd been streaming for several _months_ now. Oops. My bad. I smirked internally. Clarke just nodded tersely. She'd been busy. She replied. But she would also like to make amends. She glanced at me nervously and shook her head. She wasn't ready. I could see the panic in her eyes and I could practically hear her begging me to delay this somehow.

"Dr. Griffin. I don't believe we've ever actually met in person." I said, stepping forward. "Bellamy Blake, Skiheda." she shook my hand, eyeing me up curiously.

"You're the one who shot the chancellor." She said. It wasn't a question. It wasn't even an accusation. She was just pointing it out, in front of the chancellor in question, I might add, potentially putting me in my place.

"You're the ones who locked up my sister for the crime of being born. And then put her on a dropship to die. I don't expect you to understand, not having siblings yourself, but its an inexplicable bond. And I would do anything for her. I'm sorry to say I had to prove that." I turned to the Jaha and held out my hand.

"Sir." I said calmly while my heart pounded too fast in my chest. "I did my best to avoid any lethal areas. I hoped they could save you and I'm very glad they did. I'm sorry for what happened to you." There was a long pause and I could feel Clarke stepping towards me, ready to defend me if necessary from any attack, physical or verbal. In the end there was no need. Jaha eyed me up and then, with a soft upturn of his lips, reached out to shake my hand.

"I appreciate that son. As I said earlier. You have a full pardon."

"And while I appreciate that, I'd much prefer I have your forgiveness, sir. I did my best to protect the children you sent to Earth. All of them. And I will continue to do so. I hope to prove myself an upstanding man to you. I don't want to be known for this. I would like to leave it in the past."

"People make mistakes, Mr. Blake. But I'm afraid I don't know you well enough to give you the relief of accepting your apology. But I've made many mistakes too. Ones that actually cost people their lives. And so I understand what you say. I will consider it as we further our relationship and get to know one another."

"I appreciate that." Just then, the unmistakable wail of my children started up. I heard Octavia swear quietly as she tried to sooth him, and watched as the Arkians looked around casually at the Grounders, wondering whose infants those were.

"I'm sorry Clarke." Alta said stepping forward. The pair of them had become fast friends and more often then not, I'd come into our cabin to find Alta and her children, sometimes her husband or another friend too, sitting on our floor with Clarke making the twins laugh, or telling a Grounder bed time story, or just chatting with Clarke. "I tried to get her to settle but the minute she heard her brother there was no stopping it. I think they're hungry." She said quietly. Clarke glanced at her mom.

"Please don't over react."

"To what?" She asked, calmly not grasping at all what this grounder woman with the child meant to Clarke or what was happening.

"O." I muttered, calling her over. If we were going to do this, we were going to do this one time.

"Mom, I'm sorry we had to keep this from you. We had our reasons. I swear I'll explain everything, but..." Clarke took the squirming infant from Alta just as I grabbed our son from O. "This is Ezra and Ophelia." She nodded at them in turn. "Your grandchildren."

 **PLEASE send me some ideas! xoxo - E**


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the ideas and tips about where I should go with this! Keep 'em coming! Here's an extra long chapter to say thanks! xoxo - E**

* * *

 _"Mom, I'm sorry we had to keep this from you. We had our reasons. I swear I'll explain everything, but..." Clarke took the squirming infant from Alta just as I grabbed our son from O. "This is Ezra and Ophelia." She nodded at them in turn. "Your grandchildren."_

* * *

 **Clarke**

"My Godbabies." Wells added proudly.

"Excuse you," Octavia cut in, promptly cutting the tension with her overly dramatic indignant tone. " _Our_ God Babies thank you very much Wells Jerome Jaha."

"My middle name isn't Jerome."

"Yeah, Fox and I don't think Thelonius really suits you. You're way too dissimilar from your dad so we're trying a few others out to pick you a new one."

"Mmm. Thanks O. How nice." He replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Not really feeling Jerome."

"Yeah no, that was bad. I'll try again later." She turned back to my mother, whose eyes I couldn't quite meet yet. "So... I get that this is shocking, and probably super confusing, but you could stop looking like someone stabbed you in the ribs or something."

"Why the ribs?" Wells shot back.

"Well she's alive so clearly not her heart or anything, but it's definitely a more dramatic look than just getting stabbed in the leg."

" _Just_ getting stabbed in the leg? O! That's not just anything! You would still have been stabbed! That's still pretty intense!"

"Okay, which one of us has actually been stabbed before, Wells Mercutio Jaha? You? No! Bellamy stopped Charlotte before she even got close! Meanwhile after my training last month Indra tripped and her spear went into my arm, and let me tell you, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be." I took a deep breath. Ever since we'd named them God Parents the two had taken it onto themselves to bicker like an old married couple and annoy the shit out of all of us. I wasn't sure what being named God Parents of two children made that necessary, but evidently, they were on the same page with that.

"Wells. O." I cut in. "Now is _not_ the time. Wells, you know she makes dramatic metaphors, just let her do it, it makes her happy. O, the spear barely pierced your skin, of course it wasn't that bad. And also, Mercutio? No. If we're renaming Wells, you need to find a name that is both badass, and will embarrass the shit out of him. Okay? Now. Back to the matter at hand." I took a deep breath and turned to my mother. O was right. She did look like she'd just been stabbed.

"Are you going to say anything or do I have to go home and be miserable?"

"When did you have kids?" She managed after an obscenely long pause. "I don't... I don't understand how this is possible, I've been seeing you on that screen for..."

"We hid it from the cameras. And then after I gave birth I stayed away because I didn't want to accidentally burst out with it and tell you. It was more of an in person thing. Plus I had Mommy and Me."

"You had-"

"Yeah. Apparently that survived a nuclear war in more than one population."

"But... You had the implant. It's impossible." Bellamy winced, and I knew he was remembering that day. I put my free hand on his arm and looked up at him reassuringly.

"I got stuck in an electric fence. The shock... well Bellamy pulled me out before it did anything too awful, but it made the device malfunction. And I didn't know that at the time."

"Even so, the existence of it in you... shouldn't-"

"It have severely harmed them? Yeah. I had it taken out."

"They have laser operating technology down here?" At that, my mother looked truly surprised.

"No. A Grounder shoved his hand up there and pulled it out." Now she looked horrified. Bellamy growled a bit under his breath. I wasn't even sure if he knew he was doing it. "Whatever. I'm fine now." I said, attempting to reassure them both. "Just... mom. Can you say something that isn't medical?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" She was hurt. I knew she would be but... it wasn't worth the risk.

"Are you honestly telling me that if you had found out you wouldn't have wanted me to terminate? A new other at 18 on Earth, a place more foreign to you than... mom. I still had my wristband on. And it was really useful, to monitor my stats and keep track of my health during my pregnancy so we didn't want to take it off, but we didn't know the full extent of what it could do and what you all up on the Ark could do with it. We didn't want to risk it."

"Clarke! I would never-"

"You let Jaha kill dad because he might panic some people who deserved to know what was going on. I think it's safe to say that the thought might have crossed your mind in a panic and you could have done something without thinking it through. We wanted to be safe. So we didn't tell you all."

"Clark..." I steeled myself, waiting for another question, another excuse, another angry tirade. "Can I hold them?"

"What?"

"My grandbabies! You had... you had two babies Clarke! No one has two babies!"

"My mom had two babies." Octavia muttered under her breath. I bit back a grin.

"Please! I just want to meet them properly." I looked into her eyes and saw the sense of wonder and hope there. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah sure!" I slowly handed her my daughter. "This is Ophelia, mom. She's... headstrong, and a fighter, and she's really protective of her brother. But she loves to be held and hugged, a lot more than he does. He's pretty particular about who he lets hold him." She looked down, smiling at Ophelia's face. The spattering of freckles across her nose, the mop of dark curls on her head, she looked like Bellamy, even now, even as a baby, she looked like her dad. Except her eyes. She had my eyes. So did Ezra, but his skin was a bit lighter, less olive and more... me. And while he had Bellamy's freckles, his hair was a sandy brown, like my dad's, not like Bellamy's. Still kinda curly though, less than Ophelia's, but still, curly. O liked to say they both had the Blake nose and we agreed with her to her face, but in private we both couldn't help but marvel at how not like us they looked. Babies were weird. In all the old Earth books, people were always talking about how this baby had all the same features as their mother or their father, but beyond eye color, skin color, and hair color... aka, coloring, babies more so resembled a potato than an actual person.

Whatever. It was important to O.

"Hi Ophelia!" My mum said in a voice I had never heard before. "I'm Grandma. I'm going to spoil you rotten." She whispered. She glanced up at me and kind of frowned. "Doesn't look much like you. This question probably should have come before some of my other ones... whose the father?" Well that was awkward. My mother had just asked me who I had been having sex with all over Earth while she was gone. Hmm.

"Mom," I began, taking Ophelia back from her. "You've met Bellamy, right?" There it was. There was the glint of 'oh hell no' I'd been expecting to see from her when she saw the babies.

"Dr. Griffin." He nodded. "Did you want to meet Ezra too?" He said, in an attempt to deflect her anger and turn it into more baby love.

"You're the one who shot the Chancellor. The older one."

"We've been over this already, Dr. Griffin." Bellamy said evenly. "I've been pardoned for my crime. I did my best with the hand I was dealt. But my family comes first. Always. Then it was my sister who needed protecting, and right now, it's Clarke, Ophelia, and Ezra. And I will protect them, no matter the cost. You may as well forget the past now. Fixating on my sins won't make yours any less, nor will it foster peace on Earth, which is what our purpose is."

* * *

 **Bellamy**

Before Dr. Griffin could respond to my tirade, the horn rang out and Clarke and I looked at one another, determinedly.

"Acid Fog." She said. "Wells, Miller, take them." She said, kissing Ophelia on the forehead before trading with me so I could say a quick goodbye as well. Raven. Drive Wells and Miller back to the camp. Get Ophelia and Ezra to safety. How many others can you fit in the jeep?"

"3 and still make good time."

"Charlotte, Gracie, Ben. In you go." She said, calling out the next youngest members of Skikru. 12, 14, and 15 respectively. "Prep camp for lockdown, but leave the front door open until it is absolutely necessary to close up in case you get drifters or grounders in need of refuge." She directed them. "Wells and Miller will help you once you're all safe. Murphy, follow them, and don't be afraid to be particularly Murphyish to keep them all safe, yeah?" She smirked.

"Be as do-good Clarke as I can manage until it comes down to the safety of all the babies and then be a selfish ass to keep them safe over anyone else. Sound okay?"

"Perfect. Thanks. You good on a horse, or should you start running."

"I'm okay enough, Clarke. You don't have to worry about me."

"I usually don't." She said with an eye roll. "But those are my kids, and my people. So move it." She turned to me and her expression was enough to let me know I should take over for her for now.

"Monty, you and Jasper lead Stations 3 and 4 to the caves by the river." I said, counting up the Arkians we now had to get to safety.

"Where that sea monster almost ate Octavia?!" Jasper complained with a frown. "I know you hate me, man, but still!"

"Are you seriously wasting time making jokes right now?" I growled. Monty had already leaped into action.

"EVERYONE. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. PEOPLE FROM STATIONS 3 AND 4 NEED TO FOLLOW JASPER AND I AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN." He yelled over the noise of the confused masses. "STAY IN YOUR GROUPS. MOVE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. HELP THE CHILDREN OR INJURED AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. WE WILL NEED TO RUN, IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO DO SO, FROM ANY STATION, PLEASE SEE MY FRIEND LINCOLN OVER HERE." Lincoln raised his and waved to draw attention to himself. "HE AND HIS FRIENDS WILL GET YOU TO SAFETY." A few people staggered forward, either elderly, injured, a few pregnant, those who could not run, and warily walked towards Lincoln.

"FASTER PEOPLE!" I yelled out. "I KNOW YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING BUT THIS IS HIGHER THAN A LEVEL 1 EMERGENCY ON THE ARK, OKAY? HIGHER THAN THAT." That got People's attention.

"STATIONS ONE AND TWO, IF YOU ARE ABLE TO RUN, PLEASE FOLLOW ME." Octavia cried out. "MY FRIENDS AND I WILL GET YOU TO SAFETY!" She mounted her horse and several grounders flanked the group of panicked looking people who were chasing after her. The crowd was thinning out and several others called out locations they could take people too. The larger hiding spots were already claimed. Underground caves, dropship, the grounders' hiding holes, now we just had spaces for 5-10 people at max, so the 100 would call out their spot, and grab a handful of bemused or terrified looking Arkians to lead away to those spots, promising they'd explain on their own.

"And look at that." I muttered to Clarke. "Guess who gets stuck with the council."

"Clarke!" Her mother cried out, watching her people disappear. "What's going on? Where are they taking these people?"

"To safety." She said quickly. "We have to go. Now."

"Why?"

"Because, Dr. Griffin," I cut in more harshly than I probably needed to. "There is a large amount of acid fog coming, and believe me, that's not how you want to go."

"Follow us." She looked at me. "Where to?"

"Grounder holes are all taken."

"We won't make it back to camp at this point."

"Don't say it." I begged.

"Art supply store." I growled.

"I hate that place." I spat out. "No. You hate Finn. You'll get over it." She kissed my cheek and took my hand. Only a few of the council was left. Marcus Kane, Thelonious Jaha, Dr. Griffin, and one other member I couldn't name.

"Time to run." I said. We took off hurriedly as the scent of the acid fog began to creep in. It was getting stronger, which meant it was getting closer. This was the part I hated about Clarke being Skiheda. She didn't leave until the rest of her people were taken care of. Which meant she was always in the most danger of everyone. Then again, it was Clarke. Even if she wasn't in charge, she still wouldn't be leaving until she knew everyone else was safe.

I could hear the other woman start to heave, and I could tell she was slowing down.

"We're almost there." I called back, hoping to urge her on.

"So's the fog." Called out Clarke. I glanced back. Oh God. It was right on us. The woman, she was the furthest behind, she screamed and while she wasn't in the thick of it, I could tell that the front few droplets had reached her.

"Lead them." I called out to Clarke. "We'll catch up."

"Don't you dare." She yelled at me, her eyes wide.

"We'll catch up! I promise!"

"Bellamy!"

Without waiting for her to convince me otherwise, I doubled back around and made my way through the stinging fog to the woman. I didn't wait for her to get used to the idea either. I swept her up in my arms and chased after Clarke. The door to the beat up old van was open and the others had clearly gone down, but not Clarke. She waited for me, defiantly, coughing a bit. I all but threw the woman down into the car, and grabbing Clarke, lowered her down next before leaping in myself and pulling the door closed behind me.

"Stuff the cracks with these rags." Clarke ordered. Where ever you see mist coming in, block it with these."

"Rags are going to stop the acid?" Marcus Kane asked haughtily.

"It's not acid in the classic sense." Clarke explained. "It's engineered by the mountain men to find the people they want dead. If you're not a person, you're probably okay. That's why the wildlife and the trees and yes, these rags, aren't devoured by the fog."

"Oh. That's..." Kane looked around at where the fog had been coming in. "Kind of brilliant, actually."

"Yeah." I replied sarcastically. "It's just wonderful. We all love it a lot. Especially Atom, and Karina, and Justin. Love. It."

"Who are Atom and Karina and Justin?" Dr. Griffin asked.

"We didn't know what the horn meant at first. When the Grounder's blew it we thought..." Clarke trailed off for a moment. "We didn't know what to think. And so we just kept living our lives. And then the fog hit." Instinctively I pulled her into my arms, reassuring myself of her safety. I remembered how we barely made it here. How the fog had gashed open her arm. Superficial, it had healed and everything, but still. It could have been so much worse.

"When we realized what was happening, we all started to run. Those in the dropship were fine. The others who were closer to camp made it back. But Karina and Justin... they never saw it coming. And the rest of us, we didn't know where to hide, where we'd be safe we just... ran. Wells and Finn and I made our way here. Finn had been here before and he thought that since it was mostly below ground we might be fine. Bellamy and a few others made their way to the caves. Charlotte almost didn't make it. She's 12, you know. Bellamy had to carry her the rest of the way to the caves. When it was over and we came out of hiding, Atom he... he hadn't made it to the caves. His whole body was melting. He was in so much pain, he just..." She trailed off again and I didn't think she intended to finish that sentence.

"He begged me to kill him, but I couldn't do it." I said. "He was in so much pain, it would have been a mercy to him, but I just couldn't..."

"He died." Clarke summarized, curling up in my embrace. "Yeah. It's cool science, but we don't exactly like the fog around here." To Kane's credit, he didn't try to defend his statement, he just nodded, thoughtfully.

"So you let Atom succumb to his wounds then?" Dr. Griffin asked Clarke, a bit bitterly. "That must have been-"

"No, Mum. I killed him. Okay? But Charlotte saw and then she tried to kill Wells and it was a whole thing for a while, but they worked it out. They're fine."

"Who tried to kill Wells?!" Dr. Griffin exclaimed.

"The 12 year old. He reminded her of Jaha and she was always terrified of him and she thought Wells might kill her the way Jaha killed her parents and she was scared. Like I said. They worked it out. It's all fine now." The Chancellor had the good sense to look reasonably abashed by that.

"How long does this fog usually last."

"Sometimes it's only an hour. Usually it's at least 6. I think the longest it's ever hung in the air was over a full day, right Clarke?" I clarified. She nodded.

"Sometimes they send out reapers afterwards, to pick off wounded stragglers as they make their way home. Either way. We'll be here a while."

"And..." Dr. Griffin frowned, looking for the right words. "The children? I thought you might be more worried."

"Raven wouldn't let any of them out of the car if the fog caught up before they made it to the drop ship. They're safe in there. And Wells and Miller are more than capable of defending them against Reapers and if by chance they make a mistake, I have no doubt Raven can safe them all with whatever materials she finds around them. They're safer than anyone else in my tribe, and while that's selfish, they're my kids. I get to be selfish."

"They'll be fine." How dare she? Did Dr. Griffin just suggest that we didn't care enough about our own children? That we weren't worried about them? Clarke glanced at the windows every few seconds to see if the light of fresh air was coming through. Her pulse was beating rampantly, and I could practically feel the fear radiating off of her. They were as safe as we could make them. But they were still our kids. And we still worried. So we held each other and told everyone they were fine, more to remind ourselves than anything else.

"Since we have a while," Chancellor Jaha interjected. "Perhaps now would be a good time to get a few things out of the way."

"What things?" I asked instantly. I was sorry I hurt him. I did want to earn his trust. But that didn't mean I trusted him.

"What's been happening on Earth. How the pair of you are... commanders? Was it? How the pair of you are also a couple, and have children together. How your government is set up here, what is expected of us, how are we to learn what we must do down here... any of these topics catching your interest?"

"You'll learn fast enough. It's easier to teach you all by doing, rather than attempting to explain it all to you." Clarke said. "We have housing figured out for now. It'll be some tight squeezes but we've already begun work on the new huts and homes. In a few months people can spread out and live in their families or alone, however they'd like. For now, you will all shadow a few of us, different people each day, to get a feel for the different jobs that exist here. And so you can see what you might be most adept at. A few of the more skilled trades may already be assigned jobs. Mom, obviously you'll be with me in the med bay, with Jackson, too. Or if you'd prefer, Trikru would love to have a few surgeons to learn from and to teach in turn. There are things about Earth medicine you'll have to learn, but there are plenty of things for you to bring to us, too."

"The engineers will be with Raven." I added. "And the guard can chose if they'd like a new career, or if they'd like to be trained as warriors, with the understanding that what they were taught on the Ark, does not necessarily carry through here."

"Credits count for nothing down here. There is some exchange of money, but largely, trading goods and services is a lot easier to handle between tribes. The Ice Nation likes to trade not killing you for things, but they can also be persuaded to part with trinkets, bits of knowledge, or an apprenticeship for a friend." Clarke added with an eye roll. "We tend not to trade with Ice Nation when we can avoid it. If you offend them, or if you stand in their way, even accidentally, they are more likely to kill you than to bother to fix the situation."

"Except Roan." I grumbled.

"Really? We're doing this now?"

"Who is Roan?" Kane asked curiously.

"Heda of Ice Nation. Has a bit of a thing for Clarke." Even I could hear the bitterness in my voice. "So he likes to trade with us, just so he can get the chance to flirt with her."

"Lexa does the same thing and you don't seem to mind that as much."

"Yeah, even if Lexa thought that by killing me she could date you, she still wouldn't do it. Whereas Roan wouldn't even need that much of an incentive. So no. Not a fan."

"I'll protect you from the big, bad ice man, okay?" She shook her head with an indulgent smile before returning to the conversation with the adults in the car with us. Trikru is our largest ally. Their night blood is the current Heda, Lexa, and she and I made treaties early on. Trikru is also the tribe that Lincoln is from, Octavia's boyfriend, and they bonded early on, back when things were still contentious. Octavia now apprentices under one of their warriors, Indra, and she is high up in the ranks as well. Octavia is regarded as basically one of them, and she helped endear us to them. A few of the other tribes get along with us very well, but for the most part, we are all part of a larger alliance against the Mountain Men and that's what holds us together. That and our loyalty to Lexa. So don't break treaty rules. And don't get into fights, because I don't care what kind of combat training you had on the Ark, you will lose."

"There were a lot of things you just said that I don't totally understand." Kane replied. "Am I to assume this is also something we will learn with time and experience?" Clarke smiled.

"You catch on fast, Mr. Kane." She glanced down at her father's watch. "It's getting late. We'll be up early tomorrow to check if it's safe to come out and it's a decent hike back, especially given your lack of experience hiking, and that we'll have to check on the others and make the rounds to ensure everyone made it safely. You all might as well get comfortable. We should sleep." She rose, bent over awkwardly in the short space, and I gave her my hand to lean on as she made her way to the back of the van. There was a cozy little corner there, made with the fallen over seat and a few blankets. She passed the blankets out, leaving one for us to share. I made my way back, my expression silencing anyone who might raise issue with me sleeping beside my wife. We curled up and ignored the murmurs of the others as we closed our eyes. They didn't understand how tired they would be in the morning, but that wasn't my fault. They could sleep now, or they could be exhausted. It was there choice. I wrapped my arms around Clarke and she nestled back into me.

"I love you, Princess." I whispered in her ear.

"Love you, too, Bell." She returned. We closed our eyes and it was only just before I feel asleep that I realized, we hadn't told any of the Arkians we were married yet.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and PM!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you all for all the wonderful reviews! Keep 'em coming!**

 **xoxo - E**

* * *

 **Bellamy**

Clarke and I were the first to wake up... by a lot. Our bodies had grown used to Earth time, and we were getting better and better at waking ourselves up at a certain time without an alarm or signal to get up. Not to mention that we were used to waking up with Ophelia and Ezra who had decided upon an ungodly schedule. Wells and Miller were likely being woken up now by screams of children who wanted their parents. I pitied them. I also owed them. I'd have to give them a week off of duties and the best cuts of meat or something for putting up with this. Clarke was fussing with her shirt and I realized that she was leaking a bit.

"We've got to get back." She said. "I'm sure they made it to the dropship, and I've got milk for them stored there, but Ophelia doesn't like to drink it unless its exactly this temperature," she reminded me, gesturing to her breasts, "and you know how hard it is for Raven to heat something up exactly like that. She lacks the patience. Besides, this kind of hurts." She smirked. "A lot. I need to either pump or feed them as soon as we can manage it."

"Okay, we'll check on the fog. I haven't heard the all clear yet, but things could be clearing up presently, and then we could at least prep to leave. We're only just over a mile away from camp. Unfortunately the council might slow us down. If things get delayed, I could escort them while you go ahead, but..."

"I'd rather walk with you, if we could." She said. I smiled. Good. That's what I had been about to say.  
I pulled one of the rags away from the crack in the van. No fog came in. That was good. It meant that the acid was clearing out, but Trikru would signal when it was totally safe to come out. There could be residual fog and I wasn't about to risk Clarke like that. She packed her satchel with what she thought we should bring back to our hut. I noticed she'd slipped a few more charcoal pencils into the pack and I smiled. She'd been drawing Ophelia and Ezra over and over for weeks now, and it never failed to amaze me how she could capture Ophelia's smile, or Ezra's concentrated stare so perfectly. Just then, the signal blared. Dr. Griffin woke with a start, quickly sitting up from where she rested - rather close to Marcus Kane, I noted with a smile - and looked around frantically.

"What does that mean?" Her voice roused Jaha more fully than the horn had, and he two sat up, albeitly more slowly than she had.

"Fog's clear." Clarke said simply. "We need to head back. Now."

"Is it dangerous to wait around?" Kane asked, curiously. I had begun to note a trend with him. While Jaha and Abby were just trying to get a grip on everything as it happened around them, Kane was actively trying to learn about Earth. That was something I could respect.

"Not usually," Clarke replied casually. "But for us, it kind of is."

"Why?" Dr. Griffin asked quickly.

"Wells, Miller, and Raven will probably kill us if we leave them with our screaming babies much longer." She teased. I smirked. Our thoughts were so in sync lately. The others put on the packs of belongings they'd brought from the ark and we prepared for the walk back. I pulled myself out the the hatch first, and reached down to help the others up.

"Oh Clarke, sweetie, you've got something on your shirt." Abby pointed out kindly as we started our hike. Clarke looked at her mom like she wasn't quite sure how to explain something so simple.

"Yeah. My kids' breakfast. Another reason I would particularly like to hurry back to camp." Dr. Griffin flushed as she understood and quickly looked away. She had been far more accepting than we had initially thought, but this was still hard for her to come to terms with. To be fair, we had almost 7 months to figure out how we were going to react to everything, and she was still within her first 24 hours. We'd get there.

"Lead the way, Princess." I nodded, scooping her back off her back and throwing it on top of my own. I gestured for the others to follow her and I took up the flank, gripping my knife in one hand, and ensuring that my other hand never ventured too far from my gun. Clarke walked fast, and while Jaha and Dr. Griffin were panting and out of breath before we were half way back, Kane seemed to be able to keep up. Before too much longer, Kane turned to me.

"Can I be helpful?" He asked. "It seems to me that you are both carrying two packs, and protecting us. My pack isn't that heavy. I didn't bring much from the Ark. Could I carry one of yours?" I eyed him up. He really was in good shape, and he didn't seem to be winded. Sure we had only hiked three quarters of a mile, but it had been over rocky terrain, something he wasn't used to, and it had been largely uphill.

"Thank you. I'm all right. This is an easy hike and I'm used to the extra weight. But Dr. Griffin may need some help, why don't you ask her." He smirked.

"You know her daughter well enough, do you really think any of the Griffin's are about to accept help." I laughed.

"Fair enough. I'm all right though. We're almost there." Just then a loud wail came up from ahead of us. Clarke rolled her eyes and glanced back.

"Ezra's being dramatic again." She called back. "Can you lead them the rest of the way, Bell?" I nodded and she took off, increasing her pace and disappearing into the dark foliage. Just as she did, I noticed some movement to our left.

"Now you can be helpful." I said to Kane, tossing him a knife. "Keep your eyes out for men in hazmat suits. If you see one holler, and don't be afraid to kill them. If they just look like some crazy wild, person who looks like they're totally inappropriate to date my sister, and like someone I will probably never like but only pretend to because for some reason O loves them, you don't need to worry. Harmless as a fly. Wouldn't hurt you even if he wanted too."

"How long have you known I was here?" Lincoln asked, stepping out from behind a tree with a frown. Abby screamed. Jaha leaped in front of her. Kane just looked at him.

"What part of wouldn't hurt you, harmless as a fly, are you not getting?" I asked the chancellor. "Not long. How long have you been there."

"Since you left the van. Octavia wanted me to get eyes on you and make sure Clarke hadn't killed anyone out of sheer sleep deprivation and her inability to deal with stupid people. Her words not mine. Then again, Clarke seems to be more focused than you. Clarke noticed me after half a minute." He told me mockingly. "You're loosing it, Blake."

"Whatever you say. Flank us, wont you?" He nodded and took his place behind Kane."

"Marcus Kane." The councilman introduced himself.

"My name is Lincoln."

"And you are from which tribe?" Lincoln looked oddly pleased that this man was clearly taking some interest in Earth affairs.

"Trikru."

"Our strongest allies, yes?" Lincoln nodded the affirmative and Kane continued making small talk with the Grounder. "How did you first meet them?" He gestured towards me. "When they made the treaties?"

"No, actually. i was the first Trikru to actually interact with the Sky People. I met Bellamy when he strung me up and tortured me for information." Kane froze, and Jaha and Abby looked at me horrified, before glancing back at him nervously.

"And you're letting him protect us?" Jaha muttered in my direction warily. "What's stopping him from just killing all of us for revenge right now?" He sounded panicked and though he was trying to keep the conversation between the two of us, I could tell that Lincoln had overheard his words. The Grouonder smirked before replying.

"It is all right." He assured them with a kind smile. "I would have done the same. My people had taken one of theirs first. He was crossing into Mount Weather territory and if he went much further, the Mountain Men were going to set Reapers out to kill us all. We had to injure him to stop his progress and scare off the others. When we recovered his body, we could have treated him, but we did not trust these people yet, and so used him as bait for one of our traps. When the Sky People recovered him, he was very close to death. He would have died without our medicine. They were simply trying to save the goggled boy."

"Huh." Kane replied, a bit less casually than before.

"Clarke tried to help at first, but in the end it was Octavia who saved me. She drugged the entire camp with hallucinogenic nuts and then freed me while they were high off their asses." The matter of fact way in which he spoke made me smirk almost as much as the looks of shock on the councilpeople's faces.

"That's my sister, for you." I deadpanned. Lincoln looked at me with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

"I wonder what would have happened if Clarke had freed me and followed me into the woods. Perhaps we would have fallen in love and she would be my partner." He said, clearly trying to get under my skin. "Which bothers you more, Bellamy, the thought of me being with your sister, or your wife?" I ignored him. It took all my concentration and energy, but I did it. I ignored him.

"Come on." I said to the others, far more gruffly than was actually necessary. "We should get you settled into your assigned cabins. Dr. Griffin, Chancellor, you'll both be in the main lodge, and Kane, if I remember correctly, you've been assigned to hut 5, with Miller, and Wells, and a few others. Wells requested you, as he thought you might like to work with Miller as a guardsman, but honestly, watching you here on Earth, I think you might do well working under one of the ambassadors."

"Would not all the politicians return to political roles?" Jaha asked.

"No." I said frankly. "The politics from the Ark are not the sort of think we are trying to perpetuate here. Earth is too different from the Ark. But Kane has been trying to get to know the Earth, and it's people. May take a while for someone to train the Ark out of you, but if you'd prefer, I would imagine that Octavia could probably be convinced to take you to Trikru's base camp to meet some of the influential players and get used to the culture."

"I would enjoy that greatly." Kane addmited eagerly.

"I'll talk to her when we return."

"What does Wells do?" Jaha asked eagerly.

"Food preservation, but I think he's still looking for his passion. Not a big fan of politics, and he doesn't believe in violence, so he's not a guard or a warrior. He likes to care for Ophelia and Ezra but he's not into the other kids so much, so he stopped the nannying thing after a week or two. He's pretty good at whatever he tries, but he hasn't figured out what he wants to do yet." I shrugged again. "He'll get there. Right now, though, he's taking a break from all of that to help organize the influx of people and coach you all through the transition. He will be working with Charlotte and a few others. They've designed introduction sessions or something. I don't really know. Clarke told me that's what they were doing and I just said yes, dear, so..." Jaha grinned at that.

"Smart man." He looked beyond me his eyes alight with something akin to wonder.

"Is that..." I nodded.

"Welcome to Skikru."

* * *

 **Clarke**

The relief I felt when my children were back in my arms nearly made me cry. We had to be strong. I knew I had given them there best shot at safety and survival. But that didn't mean I hadn't been terrified for them the whole time. Sure enough, Ezra had been wailing away and by the look on Miller's face, this had been happening for a while. Ophelia was fussing, but she wasn't as much of a screamer as her brother was.

"We owe you guys." I said as I took Ezra and started to nurse him. nursing them both at the same time, while possible - I had to breasts so... - it wasn't exactly comfortable. Ezra usually went first, if for no other reason than to shut him up! Ophelia was more patient. She waited her turn. Fussing slightly, pulling on Raven's hair.

"How was your night with the Council?" Raven teased. "Is the reason you're here alone cause you murdered all of them and Bellamy's burying the bodies before anyone finds out?" I rolled my eyes at her.

"They'll be here any moment. They were... fine. Kane was great, actually, really curious about how things worked. Definitely wants to help maintain this treaty. He seems all in to me."

"And your mom and Jaha?"

"I mean we did just spring a lot on them. And we haven't even told them that we're married yet." Raven burst out laughing.

"Oh mama Griffin's gonna _love_ that. The Ark's Princess. Married to a criminal and a _Factory Station_ kid. Leaping for joy, that's what I predict."

"Shut up." I grumbled. "We'll tell her soon enough."

"You better do it soon. Someone else might accidentally let it slip before you get there. There are a bunch of pre-teens running around here who can't stop talking about your wedding, you know."

"I know. We'll get there. But we just sprang the baby thing on her, and now..."

"Just tell her Clarke. She's your mom, not an assasin. She'll take a bit but she'll come around. She's brave, and smart, and she loves you. She'll get used to this new world and everyone's place in it. But you can't continue to keep things from her. Because then there's no trust. And what do we tell Finn about trust?"

"That he's a fuckup?"

"That has nothing to do with trust... but yeah that is what we keep telling Finn. Okay. Fair enough. Just tell her Clarke."

"Okay. Today. I promise."

"Good. Now this tiny little warrior princess is practicing her scalping skills on me so I'm gonna need you to take her from me and give her some breakfast."

"Ezra's almost done. Hang on a sec." After I traded babies, and Raven handed Ezra off to Octavia who was cooing and telling him the difference between several types of knives, (Whatever he was an infant. How much did they really remember from this age?) I helped Ophelia attach, and watched as Jaha and my mother entered camp, their eyes wide, and taking everything in. Wells walked up and greeted them, holding his arm out and gesturing toward the mess hall. Octavia and I walked over towards them, bringing the children, and caught the end of his speech.

"-just one other group still out there, but they were on Trikru lines so they'll have a longer walk back, and you know Jess and Matheny don't like to wake up early to begin with so we aren't worried yet. In the meantime, you can head on into our mess lodge. Makeshift beds and cots have been set up - a lot of them have been lended by some of our allied tribes, so treat them well. They'll be yours until you purchase or make your own and have your own home, but they'll go back at the end of that time period, so we want to treat them well. Pick out your bed, and get settled in. There are extra furs and coats for anyone who is cold. Also, please pick up some new socks, the Ark socks are going to let your feet freeze! If the new socks make your boots too tight, see Harper - that girl by the drop ship door, she's helping with boot trades and we have extras in every size so we should have enough for everyone. If you have any questions... well just find a kid and ask them." He turned his head suddenly. "Charlotte!" He called out. I stiffened. He wasn't seriously going to make her meet Jaha, was he? This was why people tried to stab you Wells! The girl shyly made her way to Wells's side and looked up at the chancellor and my mother shyly.

"Dad, this is Charlotte. She's one of my best friends down here. She wanted to greet you when you got here!" She did? Just then, Charlotte swept her foot around with a hostile yell and within moments, Jaha had fallen to the ground, his legs having been knocked out from under him by a 13 year old. She pounced on top of him, and her tiny fist slammed out and punched his jaw. Then, as quickly as the assault had begun, she stood up and returned to Wells's side. Jaha lay on the ground, coughing.

"That's for locking up a 6 year old for attacking a guard after you made her watch her parents get floated for trying to steal her some medicine. You good, Charlotte?"

"All set. How was my form?"

"You looked good to me, kid. But you know who the real experts are around here."

"Clarke, Octavia? How did I do?" She asked eagerly.

"Taking on a man 3 or 4 times your size?" Octavia replied. "You kicked his ass, kid. That was awesome!" She held up a hand for a high five and grinned. She handed Ezra to Wells and then knelt down by Charlotte. "The big thing you could work on there, is keeping your limbs straight. Your arms were a bit floppy as you roundhouse kicked him. If you keep your core and your upper body... not stiff, you want to be fluid, but keep those muscles working, be more..."

"Intentional." I supplied. "If you are thinking about your entire body, all your muscles, not just the ones you are using now, you'll be better at blocking counter attacks, and your swings will be harder and stronger."

"Exactly." Octavia said. "Here... try this." She turned her head smiling brightly. "Darling can I borrow you for a moment?" Lincoln stepped out from behind the wall, stepping to her side." They squared off and Wells called some of the other youngsters over.

"Watch how she does this." He directed them, herding them to a safe, but easily view-able distance.

"When I go to kick you out like Charlotte did to Jaha, show them how to defend the action. Then we'll do it again, and I'll show how to protect myself from your counter attack." Octavia said. Lincoln smiled and replied in Triegedeslang. Octavia laughed and replied in kind. They were speaking too quickly for me to catch all the words, I was only just learning after all. But I definitely heard the words for 'fight me', 'do your worse', 'love you' and another one that was an innuendo for sex. Great. Cause that's what we wanted to teach the kids. As they began to spar, slowly and deliberately, to teach the kids, I walked over to where my mother was crouched over Jaha in shock.

"I've got some tea that will help with that." I said. "But mostly you just got the wind knocked out of you. She's not big enough to actually hurt you yet."

"I beg to differ." He muttered. I laughed.

"See? Your sense of humor is already back. You're going to be fine."

"Why are the children all learning to fight?"

"Here on Earth, everyone needs to know the basics. The guards and the warriors and the commanders, they have to learn more, to be the best of their tribes, but even the farmers and the children need to know how to protect themselves if a Reaper, or a Mountain Man comes at them, or if someone challenges them."

"Will we-" my mom began.

"Yes. You will. Don't worry. As Doctor no other tribes are going to try to kill you. Even the Mountain Men would capture you over killing you. Healers are in short supply and someone whose worked on the Ark, with that tech and knowledge, no one's gonna kill you." I smirked. "But I'm still kinda pissed about dad, so I'm still gonna make you train. It'll give me a chance to hit you and I think that's gonna make me feel better." I said, honestly. "Come on, go find your bunks and settle in. We'll talk later."

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and PM with ideas, critiques, etc.!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Can't believe you are all still sticking with me on this! I am so thankful for all of you! PLEASE be sure to review - both positive and negative reviews are welcome! I really want to improve my writing so if you see a way that I can do that, or if you just want to comment on what you like/don't like in this fic so I can figure out how to aim this story at what you are all enjoying, that would be SO helpful! I definitely accept prompts, ideas, and suggestions on plot, character development, etc. so feel free to send that in! BTW - to all of you who came over to this fic after I put Revenge on Hiatus... I may or may not be working on the next chapter over there... so send me ideas for that fic too! xoxo - E**

* * *

 **Abby**

We hadn't known what to expect. That didn't mean there weren't certain things that had stuck in each of our minds as we descended through the atmosphere as what to expect. My daughter with two children, wasn't exactly one of them. My daughter seemingly 'in love' with the biggest criminal of the lot, also not on the top of my list. (Although knowing Clarke as I did, it also wasn't on the bottom of the list.) A complex political system that allied the children - and by extension, us - with terrifying looking, warriors who had survived the radiation against a tribe of terrorists who lived in what was meant to be our stronghold, definitely not on the list. The Med Bay that Clarke and the healers from Trikru, our biggest ally apparently, was... actually quite impressive. The Housing units they had built with their bare hands - okay no, they had bartered for tools from local tribes, but still - were far larger, and to be honest, nicer than what we'd had on the Ark. Nicer wasn't the right word. Homier. They felt like homes, not living pods. Of course I wasn't living in one of those. I was on a cot in their dining hall. Which was also intensively impressive. We hadn't known what to expect. But a well founded and well run tribe, with a political system and village more complicated than what we'd had on the Ark... well that wasn't it. But here we were.

It was all unexpected. But the most unexpected thing of all (besides the whole twins thing) was the level of proficiency these children had already gained at hand to hand combat. They were training to be warriors. They were training for a war. Octavia, the second child who had been hidden away for 16 years, she was by far the most proficient. She spared with the Grounders constantly and it was shocking how often she won a fight. Her mentor, a woman named Indra, said it wasn't because she had more skill, the others had been training longer, but because she was braver, more determined, and because she had made it her life. I could see that. If I hadn't known otherwise, I'd have thought her a Grounder. Actually, I think it was only her brother, her friends, and her niece and nephew that kept her loyal to Skikru at all. If it hadn't been for her family, I think she would have left for the Grounder tribes and never looked back. Not that it would particularly unwarranted. She'd done nothing beyond simply being born, and as a result, she was raised under the floor boards, her mother was floated, and then she was thrown in Skybox. For being born. Things had been harsh on the Ark, they had to be. There wasn't room for mistakes. But down here... this was Earth. It was a whole different ball game. Marcus Kane seemed to understand that. He was making the most effort to learn the new ways, and to involve himself with our new life. A few of the others, particularly parents of the 100, they were more likely to at least _try_ to conform to the new way of life. Jaha was struggling. I could tell. And there were plenty of others from the First few stations who also weren't happy with the new system. The caste system that had set in on the Ark had been overthrown, and they were expected to work alongside people they'd looked down upon their entire lives. A good many of them weren't happy about it. We would have to watch them. I didn't think Jaha was about to lead an insurrection, he was just... struggling. Some of the others though... I wouldn't put it past them.

Watching my daughter was a daily surprise. She was so adept at motherhood. She and Bellamy were a perfect team in that regard. And in others. They led the Arkadians, and they worked with the other tribes, and they parented twin infants, it was a bit of a shock to see how well adapted they were. There was one big problem - beyond the slight risk of an insurrection - Clarke was keeping something from me. And after the baby thing, I couldn't imagine how big this secret must be.

* * *

 **Marcus Kane**

I wondered if Abby knew. Based on her calm demeanor and the exact nuances of her slight coldness towards Bellamy, I was guessing not. I was guessing that if she knew, she would make her displeasure known. But it was so obvious.

The Grounder, Lincoln, he had called Clarke Bellamy's wife when he was taunting him. They were this power couple, and they worked effortlessly as a team, as if they were of one mind, even when they disagreed. And Clarke kept pulling at a necklace she wore and looking at him with this 'in-love' smile on her face. Not to mention the entirety of the 100 tripped up almost every time they tried to refer to Clarke and Bellamy's relationship. There were only so many times you could hear someone who was flushing bright red and looking around wide eyed to make sure no one had heard their faux pa say 'wi-girlfriend' or 'hus-boyfriend' and not get what was happening. I wasn't sure why they weren't telling everyone. Maybe I'd have to talk to Bellamy later, it seemed more of a man to man conversation. Asking Clarke would be... awkward at best. Besides. I'd seen Clarke training. And as lethal as Bellamy was, I'd take my chances with him over Clarke.

"Kane." Jaha walked up to me, smiling softly. "Can we speak privately?" I stood and nodded, gesturing to the hut I shared with his son, and several other people.

"They're all out at the moment." Jaha nodded and preceded me in.

"I'm worried, Kane." He began. "There's been talk around the first few stations. They aren't thrilled that a boy from factory station and a bunch of natives are controlling all of us."

"They aren't controlling anyone. The coallition, the _kids,_ they protect us. They feed us and give us shelter. And yes, spring is coming, but we are still in the middle of winter, and they keep us warm, and safe, and keep us all from dying. Following their rules earns us their protection, but they aren't about to stop anyone from leaving and starting their own group."

"I think you and I both know the level of entitlement in those groups. They want to live in the houses that the kids built, not the dining hall, or in the thick tents left over from their original camp. They want to have the bet hunting grounds without the grounders getting in the way."

"That's too damn bad." I grumbled back.

"I'm not agreeing with them, Kane. I just... you seem to have implemented yourself well withing the ranks for these kids, and with the Grounders. They all trust you. You... I just thought you should know." I nodded curtly.

"Thank you, Thelonius." The man turned to leave, but I put my hand on his shoulder to detain him a moment. "One thing. You should stop calling them kids. They stopped being kids when we threw them in Skybox, maybe earlier, and they definitely stopped being kids when we sent them to a planet to die."

* * *

 **Bellamy**

"Wife." I muttered in her ear as she rolled on top of me. I kissed her long, pale neck and sighed. If only I could spend every minute wrapped up in her. Screw politics. Screw my job. All I wanted was her, my kids, O, and maybe like three other people and I would be perfectly content. She pushed herself up a bit, her legs naturally falling on either side of my body, and she hovered over me. Her hair fell like curtains around us, blocking the rest of the world from my mind.

"I want you." She breathed. I closed my eyes and forced myself to say the words, knowing damn well they wouldn't get me what I really wanted.

"We don't have any contraception. We agreed that Ezra and Ophelia are enough for now, and that we had to wait until we could ensure that I won't knock you up again." She laughed. My heart skipped a beat.

"As I recall, you really enjoyed having knocked me up before." She said, leaning down, her teeth gently grabbing hold of my ear. I groaned.

"I did. A lot. And I will absolutely knock you up again. But not yet. Not fair to the twins. Not fair to- oh God Clarke!" Her nails were scrapping gently down my chest as she sucked and nibbled at my neck. Her hips were astride mine and I could feel her heat as she rubbed herself against me.

"I know you want me." She breathed out and I gripped the quilt, hard. I couldn't just lay here and take this. I gripped her hips and flipped her over, pinning her to the mattress.

"Of course I want you." I growled, rolling my erection into her pelvis making her gasp deliciously. "You're like oxygen. I need you. But we agreed-"

"Bellamy." She whined. "I don't care. I know what we said and I'll talk to Jackson and get something figured out but _please_. I need you!" I was a bad, bad person. I was supposed to be the voice of reason. I wasn't supposed to let Clarke and her hormones control this. We'd talked about it. How I had to say no. How I had to- "You're my husband and we haven't even fucked yet. We do all sorts of other things, but I want you inside of me right now. Please, Bell." Damn. I was going to hell.

It didn't take long for us to rid ourselves of the few clothes we had left on. Normally, I liked to start by pleasing her, by making her cum on my fingers, in my mouth, time and time again, until she was putty in my hands. I liked to please her well and thoroughly before we ever got to sex. I was damn good at foreplay, and at oral sex, and I liked to show off. But that was _all_ we had been doing for nearly two months now, since the babies were born. We weren't going to go that route today.

Without waiting, I plunged into her and she cried out loudly. I buried my face in her breasts and groaned in pure bliss. I was home. We rolled and thrust against each other, our lips claiming each other's skin. Her hands pulled at my hair and I almost cried at the pure feeling of it all. I was reaching my peak far too quickly. Two months without sex - more, actually, because the last few weeks of her pregnancy Clarke had been so nauseous she hadn't had the appetite for sex - it wasn't good for my stamina. And I knew I'd be coming soon. With a noise of pure anguish, I pulled myself out and shifted away, pumping with my hand to reach my peak. Before I could get here, Clarke's hand replaced mine and she pushed me over the edge, spilling all over the dirt floor of our hut. Before she could loose what arousal our coupling had given her, I reached down with my hand, and rubbed her until she was cumming too. We lay back in our bed, exhausted.

"I'll talk to Jackson as soon as I'm dressed." She said. "That's gonna be an awkward conversation. Stupid Grounders for not having birth control." She scoffed. I laughed. Nikko had explained when Clarke had brought it up, that to Grounders, life was so sacred, and conception happened so rarely, that whenever it did, it was a blessing to the whole community. The whole village would raise the child, and so the parents would have all the support they needed, whether they were together or not, and whatever their age. If they had yet to finish their training, others would step up to care for the child while they did. It was a good system... it didn't really work for us because we really, _really_ needed us some birth control.

"I should probably clean up the mess I made on the floor before some unsuspecting Arkadian steps in it." I said frankly. Clarke burst out laughing and my heart did that thing where it stuttered again. She was everything. A soft fussing from the next room distracted us. Correction to my previous statement. She was part of my everything. Clarke, Ophelia, Ezra, and Octavia. They were my world. They were everything.

* * *

 **A/N: What should happen now? xoxo - E**


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: So I'm on a bit of a 100 bender. I've finally had some time to watch the latest season on Netflix and while I'm not caught up so PLEASE don't tell me anything!, the obsession is running rampant through my veins and lets be honest it's kinda impossible to be on tumblr these days without getting a general feel of what happened in the finale and even with just that my heart hurts SO bad... so... I'm going to be working hard on this fic, hopefully returning to _Revenge_ , and...probably publishing an AU 100 fic I started a long time ago that takes place on the Ark. I'm hoping they're all different enough that I don't get confused but if ya'll see plot problems or writing problems in general PLEASE tell me! Thanks!**

* * *

 **Clarke**

"Hey Jackson." I muttered across the table we were cleaning in med bay. "Can I talk to you?" He looked up, confused by my hushed tone. "In private?" I nodded my head towards my mother and he nodded slowly, understanding if only just. He announced he was taking a break, and I played the breastfeeding card. Soon enough we were out of hearing distance from the rest of camp.

"What's up, Clarke? Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong, per se..."

"I'm assuming this is medical as we aren't exactly... friends or anything. I kind of doubt you'd come to me for anything else, and if you don't want your mom to know then I'm betting that something is wrong."

"Like I said, not wrong, just... personal."

"Okaaaay..."

"I have recently-ish given birth to two children, and as much as I love them, they are quite the handful. Bellamy and I may want more in the future but for now... like I said, two infants are a handful. We'd rather be protected."

"Oh."

"Yeah. We need some form of contraception..."

"Have you maybe thought about asking the Grounders-"

"Don't use it." His brow furrowed at my answer.

"They don't-"

"Nope. With all the radiation that the first few generations endured, having children is really difficult, so no matter who gets pregnant, it's a gift. If the mother doesn't want the child, there are dozens of families who are desperate to adopt because they're infertile. So yeah. They don't use contraception."

"Oh."

"Yup."

"I really don't know what to tell you. We would have to get you a new device..."

"That's what I'm asking you for her, Jackson."

"I mean we have some but they're all earmarked for the girls who are about to reach puberty. We make them as female children are born... there aren't just... extras lying around."

"And why can't I have one of the ones for the very young children who aren't going to need one for years, at which point in time we'll either be ready to make new ones or have different methods?"

"Because then I have to explain to your mother that we're short a device because her daughter wants to keep having sex with the guy who knocked her up and who, and I quote, 'looks at Clarke like he owns her'." I rolled my eyes.

"First of all, that's not how he looks at me." I scoffed. "And second of all, you're either going to have to tell her that, or you get to tell her that her daughter got knocked up _again_ by the same guy because _you_ couldn't be bothered to get her a contraception device, and I can't keep my hands off my husband for much longer!" The last part came out in a hiss as I imagined another night without Bellamy.

"Y-your... your _what_?!" I blanched.

"Okay, so maybe you don't tell her that part at all."

"You got married. Here. On Earth."

"No we did it when I was locked up in solitary." I deadpanned. "Yes we did it here on Earth. Just before the Ark landed. We were going to tell everyone but we forgot at first, what with the acid fog and the telling mom we had twins and everything, and the longer it was since they all landed, the worse it is that we haven't told anyone and now it's a huge point of anxiety for the both of us. We've even considered getting married again just to avoid the whole thing."

"So what, now I'm the only person who knows?!" He asked, panicked.

"Of course not! The entirety of the hundred knows, and most of the Grounders know, and I'm 80% sure that the Mountain Men are keeping track of all of us so they probably know and the more I'm talking the more I'm actually really impressed that no one has found out yet!"

"Stop looking so pleased with yourself Clarke Griffen!" Jackson hissed at me. "You've just put SO many secrets on me and I'm not good at lying to your mom! God this is so awkward! I don't do well with awkward situations! I don't know if I can do this!"

"Snap out of it. You get me the contraception device. I'll find a way to tell mom about the rest."

"Fine!"

"Oh, and Jackson?"

"Yes?"

"Prepare to feel even more awkward. You'll be the one putting it in."

* * *

 **Bellamy**

My wife was one of the most stunning people I'd ever seen. It was probably creepy that I was just watching her as she helped Jasper set his thumb back in its socket, smiling like a goon, but I was. She was my _wife_. It was my prerogative.

"Do you see her?" I murmured to my equally beautiful daughter as I bounced her in my arms. "That's your mum. Yup. There she is! Over there! And she is helping take care of all our adult children. I hate to break it to you, but you are your brother, they aren't our first. We had more than ninety children before we had you two. But I'll tell you a secret Ophelia. You and Ezra, you two are our favorites! Yes! Yes you are!"

"You're weird." I glanced back at my sister as she admonished me but I could see the smile in her eyes.

"I don't think you ever baby talked me, you know. What is it about actual parenting that makes you start to talk like a lunatic exactly?"

"Maybe you just weren't as cute as she is." I suggested.

"I'd like to protest, but _damn_ that baby is cute, Bell!"

"Yeah." I grinned. "She looks like her mom."

"No she doesn't you goon, she looks like us." I rolled my eyes.

"Skin tone and hair aren't her only features, O."

"Whatever. They're the most prominent. Which means that she's _always_ gonna look like her auntie Octavia! Yes! Yes you are!" I smirked as she hunched over the infant in my arms, playing with her hands.

"And you made fun of me for baby talk."

"Whatever I'm a girl. We all baby talk. It's in our genes. Can't help it." She glanced up at me nervously.

"I'm glad _this_ O is always gonna know her dad." She muttered. My heart broke a little. Mom had always kept O's father's identity a secret. She knew there'd be trouble for him if he knew and according to her, he was a good enough man that he deserved that at least. It weighed on O constantly."

"We could probably find him, you know." I suggested quietly.

"Yeah, I know. Dr. Griffin - Abby - she said as much too. Said she could run my DNA against the records from the Ark, but... I don't know. It would be so weird, you know? He doesn't even know I exist and then I come running in 17 years later, with a life, and a plan, and no intention for him to be a father to me. I don't need a father, Bell, I have you. You raised me. And knowing who's DNA I have doesn't change that." My eyes were prickling with tears and if anyone ever asked I would swear it was the sleep deprivation my children were causing but looking down at O, my baby sister, the one I raised... I knew I wanted Ophelia to be just like her.

"It's up to you. I will support you either way, always."

"I know Bell. You always do."

* * *

 **Clarke**

I swaddled the blanket around Ezra tightly, preparing him for the cold hike ahead of us. He would rest in one of the leather slings Lincoln had made for us for 'shower gifts'. We didn't have a clue what he was talking about when he first brought it up, but apparently it was an old Earth tradition to throw new parents or new married couples a shower which was like a party or something where they were given gifts to help them start out on this new part of their lives. I didn't totally get it - probably because everything we would need for our babies on the Ark was given by the government, drafted out of excess, or bought from the stores in first and second. We didn't need any more. There wouldn't have been room for it in our pods. But down here, the whole village raised the children, so I guess it made sense. Many of our Grounder friends had given us gifts, either for our children, or for our marriage. Along with Lincoln's slings, we had been given more clothing for Ezra and Ophelia than they could possibly wear. And not just for their current size, but varying sizes so that as they grew, they could continue to have new clothing. Nyko and a few of his friends had commissioned cribs for them. They were both beautiful pieces of craftsmanship, but Ezra and Ophelia refused to sleep apart and so one crib had never been used. Blankets for both our children, as well as for us had been made. Several mothers gave us or made us toys for the children. Ayla's family made us a gourmet dinner, complete with baby food for the twins, and Lexa had gifted us an ancient bottle of wine. Several of the warriors gifted Bellamy and I weapons of the highest quality. (I knew that Octavia was the one who stole the set of throwing knives, but I wasn't about to snitch on her to her brother.) One of the grounders had even made Ezra and Octavia their first hunting bows. Not that they'd be big enough to use them for years yet.

Once the Grounders' giving tenancies became well known, the 100 hadn't wanted to be outdone, and they too began to craft gifts for our family. This constant giving was still going on when the Ark landed, and it confused the Arkadians to no end. Not to mention, Bellamy and I currently had more possessions than we knew what to do with.

"Are you sure you have to stay the night?" Bellamy's voice rang out, filling the room with warmth.

"We've been over this."

"What if Ophelia needs you?" He begged. I knew where he was going with this. We'd had this conversation more than once, so I also knew how to get him to stop.

"You're right. I'll have to take them both with me."

"NO!" He held Ophelia close to his chest and turned away, as if protecting her from me.

"Don't listen to her, my darling. I won't let her take you to the powwow."

"We've been over that too. They aren't Native Americans. They don't have 'powwows'. It's just an alliance meeting."

"What if something happens to you?" He whined.

"I'm more than capable of taking care of Ezra and myself, but if it helps, Octavia, Kane, Wells, _and_ Miller are coming with as my guard. It isn't a hostile meeting. We're talking about spring hunting grounds and Ice Nation won't even be there because none of their properties overlap with where animals are calving."

"And what if the other clans are upset that we will still need _some_ hunting grounds."

"They need some hunting grounds too, Bell. We aren't asking for anything they aren't asking. Besides. They'll take one look at Ezra and melt. You know how grounders are around babies."

"Clarke-"

"I know you're worried, Bell. But this isn't dangerous. We're going to be fine, and in two days I'll be right back where I belong. Next to you." He traded babies with me as I spoke so that I could bounce Ophelia around a bit, and feed her one last time before I left. "Besides..." I began casually as my daughter latched on. "In two days, Jackson's gonna put a new contraceptive device in. So... _three_ days from now-" His lips crashed into mine as he leaned down, careful that his body not press up against our children, held between us.

"Hurry home, then." He replied gruffly.

"Impatient man." I teased, handing Ophelia back to him after kissing her head goodbye, and taking Ezra from his arms. We were getting better at this baby trading thing. "Lucky for you I have even less patience." I murmured in his ear as I kissed his cheek. "May be meet again." He set Ezra comfortably in my sling and picking up my small bag, he took my hand and led me outside. He gave the bag to Kane and nodded toward me.

"I'll take care of them." I rolled my eyes but before I could say anything Octavia jumped in with a snort of laughter.

"Yeah, okay." She said with a grin. "Make that, Bellamy, I'll make sure that Clarke, and Ezra, and all the other boys get home safe and sound, okay? Love you, Bell!" She called out, skipping ahead towards the gate out of our camp. Bellamy kissed Ezra's head, and then pressed his lips against my brow.

"May we meet again." He murmured. "I love you."

"Forever." I replied.

* * *

 **Octavia**

Lincoln hoped out of the shadows as we cleared our camp's view and walked next to me, reaching out for my hand.

"Hello my love." He murmured.

"Hello." I smiled. "I can't wait til we get there."

"Why's that?"

"I want to talk to you about something." I glanced at the small entourage following me, rolling my eyes as Kane attempted to help Clarke over every fallen log. "In private."


	19. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: Thank you all so much for all the reviews! LOVE the feedback! PSA: Octavia is not pregnant... YET. I considered it but it doesn't fit into the grander plot at this moment in time. That being said, if one of the Arkadians was GOING to get pregnant, it would probably be her, as she's the only other one who doesn't currently have a contraceptive device, what with the whole, raised under the floorboards thing... so maybe!**

* * *

 **Octavia**

"Kane. I can do this. You don't have to keep helping me up every incline. He's a baby not a bomb." Miller snorted at that one as Kane blushed a bit.

"I just want to help. I'm not great with babies, haven't spend any time with a kid since... well, it's been a long time."

"Ezra's napping, so he's content as a cucumber right now, and I've been training to do like, hard things, so climbing this hill? We can manage."

"Okay... I'll try to back off a bit." He returned with a smile. "I have to admit, even though I've known Bellamy since he was a kid, he kind of scares the shit out of me." I burst out laughing.

"Bellamy is the biggest teddy bear in the world." I told him. "I'm the Blake sibling you have to watch out for." I teased him with a wink.

"So I've noticed." Kane nodded. "You scare the shit out of me too, if that helps." I smiled proudly.

"Actually, it does." Kane was actually pretty cool. He was one of the only one of the Arkadians who was really making an effort with the Grounders. "You've known Bellamy since he was a kid?" I asked, wondering how in the hell that had happened. Kane wasn't exactly from our neck of the woods.

"Yeah. I used to be a guard in factory. Aurora and a few of the other women from around there would brew tea and bring it to the guards on night shift. There were a lot of riots, for a while, and we were working a lot of unpaid overtime to make sure they could come and go from their pods and jobs safely, and so they would pay us back in caffeine." He joked. "Bellamy always tagged along. To protect his mom, he used to say." Kane remembered with a smile. "He must have been... I don't four, maybe five then? It was pretty cute."

"Okay, so I know he's like an infant and everything," Wells cut in," But who here can totally see Ezra doing that to Clarke in a few years? Walking into Grounder meetings and swearing to challenge anyone who dares defy her or something ridiculous." I burst out laughing.

"My child is much more intelligent than you give him credit for." Clarke argued gruffly. "He would never be so reckless and stupid."

"Yes." I deadpanned. "The child of Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin would never be reckless. Clarke I bet you that by the time he is 5 years old, he will have done something damned close to what Wells just described."

"Who are the judges on that?"

"Wells and Miller."

"You're on. Stakes?"

"You have to do my laundry for 2 months."

"You mean _you_ have to do _my_ laundry for 2 months."

"Deal." Clarke leaned down and kissed her sleeping child on his brow.

"When you wake up," She murmured to him. "We're going to have us a long talk about what you are and are not allowed to do and how you are to be a meek child, never questioning anyone, and not at all protective of your mother. Because your _aunt_ has made a grievous mistake and hasn't realized that my laundry, also includes both of my children's laundry. And you two go through a lot of clothes. She's going to be drowning in it. And we will laugh."

"Not even worried." I smirked. We lapsed into our own conversations then. Lincoln and I weren't talking so much as just being together. We both had so many commitments lately, especially since I'd started to train under Indra, that we didn't have a lot of time to be together like that. We held hands as we walked, and while Lincoln surveyed our surroundings, I eavesdropped on the others. Wells and Miller were talking sports, something I'd never really understood. That left Clarke and Kane to talk to one another. I couldn't help but listen in a bit.

"I have a question for you, Clarke." Kane spoke softly. "I don't mean to pry into business that isn't mine but..."

"Please." Clarke gestured for him to continue after he trailed off. "If I find the question _that_ intrusive, I'm more than capable of making some ridiculous excuse." She teased, grinning.

"Your mom and I have become friends, Clarke. Shit. No. That sounds like I'm trying to get into a relationship with your mom. Wait. Back up. Let me try again." Huh. Flustered Kane. That was a new one. It sounded to me that whatever he was trying to say, he absolutely _was_ interested in Dr. Griffin, the elder. I smirked. Actually that was kinda cute. "I just mean... we're friends, you know? And since it's new, and I'm still trying to prove that I'm trustworthy after some shit that went down on the Ark, I feel kind of bad for lying to her."

"Well then maybe you shouldn't lie to her." Clarke suggested sarcastically. Only Clarke could be a sarcastic little shit and still sound like a sweet, nice, person. I admired that about her, actually.

"It's not exactly my secret to tell."

"Not to pry on my end here, but if I don't know what you're talking about, I'm not sure how good my advice is going to be here, so maybe you should just talk to whomever is keeping the secret and-"

"When are you going to tell her that you and Bellamy are married?"

 **Clarke**

Before I had time to react, Octavia made a noise that wasn't quite human, sounding as though she'd been hit by an arrow, or a spear or something. Lincoln clearly had the same thought, as he instantly leaped into a fighting stance, his eyes seeking out whatever had harmed her. I rushed to her side, but found nothing wrong with her. Instead, she was just staring, eyes wide, mouth dropped open in awe, staring at Kane.

"Octavia!" I called out, getting her attention. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"You _KNOW?!"_ She cried out, looking at Kane almost as if she were in awe. "How do you know? Who told you?! Cause I threatened _everyone,_ and if someone isn't scared enough of me, then I need to do something about that!"

"No one told me, I figured it out."

"That's a very specific thing to 'figure out', Kane!" Octavia called back.

"Babies aside, they're obviously completely in love, and when we were walking back, after the acid fog separation, Lincoln and Bellamy were trying to get a rise out of one another, Lincoln tried to provoke him, and in the process, referred to Clarke as his wife." Octavia spun around.

"I didn't think I had to threaten you! You're usually pretty damn good at the whole discreet thing!"

"It was an accident." He shrugged. "No one but Kane seemed to notice, and I had a feeling he wasn't about to tell anyone."

"A feeling?!" God Octavia was shrill when she was emotional. "A feeling?! You had a-"

"Well obviously the feeling was right as Kane hasn't told anyone." I cut in, ready to be done with Octavia's yelling. I turned back to him.

"I appreciate your coming to me before telling my mother. As I'm sure you can imagine, it's a delicate situation and given the fact that there are now two children involved in the family dynamic, we wanted to be rather careful about all of this." He nodded.

"I'm happy to continue to remain silent on the matter, but if I can give some advice, the longer you go without telling her, the more difficult this is going to be.

"Yeah." I grumbled. "We know. We're working on it, okay?"

"Okay."

"Can we change the subject?" I asked bitterly.

"Sure." Kane replied. But then no one did. And so we walked on, the anxiety ridden thought running through my head over, and over, and over again.

"Please." I barked out.

"Octavia!" Wells said, louder than usual. "Isn't it your birthday next week? Do you want us to throw a party or something."

"Ayla, Naima, and Alexandra are already planning a traditional Grounder coming of age thing. Which will be cool cause then Lincoln and I can _officially_ start dating or whatever." I snorted.

"And what do they think you've been doing thus far, weaving flower crowns and skipping through the woods platonically?" She laughed back.

"No, but it's like... this whole official thing. He's supposed to ask one of my parent's permission if he wants to date me before I become an adult, but since my mom is dead and I don't have a dad, obviously that didn't happen, and if I did had parents, they would assign chaperones to all our dates before hand... thank _God_ that didn't happen, and then this would be the part where I chose Lincoln for myself, and then I get to make all the decisions about whether or not I want a chaperone - no thank you - and when I allow him to take me out - literally fucking always." She grinned. "I really love that the Grounders are such a matriarchal society. Women get _all_ the power on this sort of thing."

"Let me guess, if there aren't any parents, other elder siblings would do as well?" I asked. She flushed.

"Not that I was going to tell _him_ that. It's not a big deal for us, because we've basically been doing it anyway, and a lot of Grounders get around the rules these days too, but it's especially cool because I can go to the next level of my training with Indra too, and having this ceremony there... it means they accept me as one of them. And it'll be the first Arkadian coming of age ceremony ever, which will be cool and I think it will help seal the treaty's bond, you know?"

"Wait, so Grounders come of age at 15?" Kane asked, his brow furrowed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked him. Where had he gotten that from?

"Octavia, you're... you're turning 15, right?"

"What? No! I'm turning... _ohhhhhh_." She added, her eyes lighting up with an understanding that I did not currently possess. "No. My mom, she lied about how old I was when I went into lock up. She wanted to give me more time before the council made their decision on if they were going to float me for being born or not. I was so small, from not having much to eat, they all believed I was so much younger than I was." Kane had an odd look on his face, realizing that it would have been _his_ decision on whether or not they should have killed Octavia in that situation and probably knowing what his decision would have been. He had always been a greater good kind of council member. He knew we didn't have enough to survive, and fewer people meant better odds for the human race. I think it was him who mentioned that parents should have to undergo a genetic test before being allowed to have a child, to make sure the child in question had high probability of being useful or whatever. "I'm not turning 15. I'm turning 18." She said with a kind smile.

"Oh." He returned, his voice peaked.

"Hey. Don't sweat it. We're past all of that, you know? This isn't the Ark. It's Earth. And Bellamy would have found a way to stop it anyway, so..."

"Yeah. You're probably right." Kane concluded before lapsing back into silence. I frowned, watching him. No, there was more than the floating sensitivity. I glanced from him to Octavia, doing some quick math in my head. Bellamy would have been 6 when she was born, and if Kane had known Bell and Aurora in the year prior... oh shit. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, _hells_ to the no. I did not have time for this shit. Dear God let me be wrong.

* * *

But the longer I watched the two of them, the more I was certain that I was _not_ wrong.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so I know that there are some discrepancies with how I've done age - I think I've changed Bellamy's referenced age like 3 times or something. When I finish this thing, I'll go back and fix all of that. Okay! Other than that... how was it? Please review/PM me! Thanks! xoxo - E**


	20. Chapter 20

**Please head over to check out my newly published 100 fic, The Test! I'm super excited about it! It's something I wrote a while ago so I've actually had the time to edit which means it won't be filled with typos or plot holes like this friend is:) Thanks for all your support! xoxo - E**

* * *

 **Bellamy**

She wouldn't stop crying. Why wouldn't she stop crying. We knew this was going to be a tough one, Ezra and Ophelia had never spent a night not wrapped around each other, but that was why we wanted to start these brief separations early on, so they wouldn't be so codependent. Also because otherwise Clarke would take them both with her and I'd be miserable and lonely. I thought that with my daughter... well I didn't think she'd spend the whole night crying. I was singing to her, telling her stories, rocking her, bouncing her, everything that usually worked. I had re-swaddled her about 4 times.

"Please, Ophelia. Please just stop crying. Come on sweetheart. A little smile? For daddy?" She wailed louder. I heard a load sigh coming from the room next to me. I'm sure that our Arkadian housemates weren't thrilled about this either, but seeing as their only other option was sleeping outside in a tent in the middle of March - end of March, really, but it was still freezing at night - they weren't about to complain.

"Sorry." I called out gruffly. There was no response. Good. Pretend you're asleep over there. It was a small family. A mom and her son, both from second station. Clarke sort of knew them and they were always very animated and nice around her. They didn't like me _quite_ as much...

I looked at my now screaming daughter.

"Please don't make me do this. Really. Please." I said reaching down to kiss her forehead. Damn. She was getting hotter. I sighed. "You're going to make me do this, aren't you, baby?" She screamed in the affirmative. I bundled her up and threw on my own fur lined coat, the one that made me look rather barbaric. It wasn't that I really _needed_ it, after all, I was only walking about 30 feet, but it made me feel powerful and I was about to go face someone who made me feel like I was about 3 inches tall. "Come on the Ophelia." I mumbled as I pulled her tightly to my chest, her cries muffled by my clothing. "Let's go see Grandma, yeah?"

I slipped into the main hall as quietly as I could, holding my child tightly to me, bouncing her just like she liked, softening her cries to sad mumbles of tears, mostly muffled as I snuck around the bunks that we'd set up. When I got to Dr. Griffin's side I had to shake her arm to wake her. She sat up with a bolt.

"I need your help." I spoke quietly so as not to wake her neighboring sleepers any more than I already had bringing my fussing baby in here. "Ophelia's got a fever and she wont stop crying." She was already slipping on her coat and shoes by the time I finished the sentence and gestured for me to head out, towards Med Bay.

"When did this start?" She asked as we trudged across the still snowy ground.

"She's been fussy since she realized Clarke and Ezra were gone. It's only been getting worse. I only noticed the fever a few minutes ago."

"Noticing doesn't mean that's when it started." I felt the words as keenly as I would a knife. I knew I wasn't the best parent yet, but I was doing my best to learn. And actually, I could make an argument that _she_ wasn't the best parent either.

"I'm aware. I've been holding her the whole time. I've done everything that usually works, and when I noticed the fever I came straight to you."

"Okay." She replied simply. "Could you lay her down on the table?" She asked as she shut the doors behind her, flicking on Monty's brilliant lighting system. I lay her down and felt a small sense of approval - from my daughter anyway - as she sobbed the moment I let her go and reached up for me.

"It's all right sweetheart." I tried to soothe her. "Your grandma's going to make it all better, okay? You're going to be just fine. I promise." Still she wailed. Dr. Griffin took her temp, checked her heart rate, and ran a series of other tests I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to when my baby girl's face was scrunched up like that.

"Her blood pressure is high too." Dr. Griffin commented. "That's odd. I can't seem to find the source."

"What does that mean? What's wrong with her?"

"A few symptoms, the fever, high blood pressure, clear upset,"

"You think?" I asked dryly.

"But she's not sick with anything I've seen before. There are all these symptoms and no source."

"Can she be moved?"

"What do you mean?"

"Would it be all right to hike her a few miles tonight? Right now?"

"No! That would be further upsetting to her! Why on Earth would you want to-"

"Because if you can't help me, then I need a doctor who can."

"You shouldn't do that. Especially with the cold night air. It would be good for her to breathe it in, in short periods, to help cool the fever and soothe her vocal cords, all that screaming won't be kind to her tomorrow, but she shouldn't be-"

"Fine. I'll send someone else to fetch them, and bring them here."

"I doubt that Clarke is going to find something that I-"

"I'm fully aware of how much you doubt your daughter. But that doesn't mean I'm about to put the safety of mine at risk, Dr. Griffin. Besides. I wasn't talking about Clarke. I'm sure she would be fully capable of thinking up something you wouldn't. She's been on Earth for a while now, seen all kinds of things you wouldn't begin to think of. But it's important for her to stay where she is, and we agreed early on, that her emotions in regards to our children make her treating them less than ideal. If it's anything more serious than what other parents would deal with on their own, we get someone else to handle it."

"Bellamy?" Harper sleepily knocked on the door of the Med Bay. "What's going on in there? It sounds like someone's torturing her."

"I'm sorry she woke you, could you-"

"Not just me. There's a handful of us out here."

"Again, I'm sorry-"

"No, no, I'm screwing this up. I'm not trying to complain, I just-"

"Oh for Christ's sake." Raven's voice cut in angrily. "We aren't complaining, we just want to know how we can help. She sounds miserable and none of us are going to get any sleep with that on our minds." I smiled at her as I opened the door to find almost a dozen of the 100 dressed and ready to help.

"Doc doesn't know what's wrong. Someone get... damn. Lincoln's with Clarke. I don't want her freaking out."

"I can find Nyko." Harper volunteered.

"No need." Raven cut in. "I'm pretty sure he's here."

"What?"

"Well, not _here_ here, but close by."

"Why?"

"Genevieve keeps sneaking out at night, and she hates hiking if she can help it so there's no way they go too far."

"Genevieve and _Nyko_?" I asked, my eyes wide. That girl was tiny. I mean seriously. _Tiny._ I didn't... nope. Nope we were not going down that path. "I don't care. Someone go find him. And baring that, storm Trikru and find me a different doctor. One who knows what the hell is going on and can do something to help my daughter."

"Aye aye, captain!" Monty called out over enthusiastically.

"Don't do that." I replied as they all hurried off to find the man in question. "Seriously, just... don't."

"Whatever you say, Captain Blake!" I ignored him as my daughter let out a fresh cry of anguish. It struck straight through my heart. I held her tightly to me, stepping out in the chilly air and bouncing her slowly against my chest.

"Shhhhh," I tried to sooth her. "Don't cry, sweetheart, okay? Daddy's gonna find you someone to help you."

"Bellamy, I'm quite serious in saying I'm not sure that there's anything actually wrong with her."

"And I'm quite serious in saying that these are not the cries of someone with nothing wrong. She's in pain. And she's scared, and she's my daughter, so I'll be damned if I'm not going to do everything in my power to make it better."

"As a mother, Bellamy, I understand that, I'm just saying, sometimes you have to leave them be, let them self sooth."

"I've been to the damn parenting classes, I know. But this isn't because she can't self soothe. She's in pain. She has a fever. She has high blood pressure. And she's not a toddler learning to cope and grow up, she's an infant. She needs her parents."

"Bellamy-"

"If you can't help me, then you may as well just go away." My words were harsh and my worried tone - which sounded to everyone else more like fury, I'd been told - probably didn't help matters much. Still, she nodded quietly and slipped out the doorway I was standing in, rocking my baby girl.

"Ophelia, what am I going to do with you?" I whispered to her gently. "What can I do? Hmm?" She sniffled and let out a hiccup, her eyes finding mine and begging me to make the pain go away. It broke my heart a thousand times over. I held her close to my chest again and bounced slowly. What did we do to make Octavia stop crying? We could never let her cry? But God, it was so long ago, I could hardly remember! We gave her a bottle, or we swaddled her and held her a certain way. That one time mom had had to give her a few drops of bootlegged alcohol, just to calm her. I hated that, but if we didn't want them to kill her, that was the choice we had to make. We didn't have to make that choice with my children. Then there was that song mum used to sing to her. I didn't remember it. Something about... horses or something. It didn't make much sense, but that was probably because I knew nothing about horses. Or ponies. Yes. That was it. All the pretty little ponies or something. I didn't really know that song well. Octavia could probably sing it, but I didn't really remember. What other songs did I know? Not that many. There was... no. That wasn't really a soothing song. Oh God, I didn't know!

"Oh Ophelia, what do you- hey. Wait. That's a song!" I murmured to my little girl who was now sucking her thumb, still looking miserable. "Oh Ophelia, you've been... wait, that's in the middle. How does it start?"

"Oh, oh, when I was younger, oh, oh, should have known better." A soft voice hinted from beside me. I glanced up to see an old man, wrapped in a blanked, a few feet away. He smiled softly.

"My wife was named Ophelia. I used to sing that song to her when she was melancholy, you see. I heard what you'd named her and I thought Oh! That's good luck that. My wife would've like that." I nodded at him.

"Bellamy." I reached out to shake his hand and he hobbled forward to take it in his.

"Andre."

"Your wife, is she-"

"Dead. In the landing. She was so nervous about it. She always got herself worked up. When we heard we were landing the damn thing she looked at me and said, 'I'm not meant to walk on the Earth, Andre. I'm just not.' I believed her. She was always right, you see. You'll learn that with your young lady someday, son. I knew she was right. So we made peace with it, and when we sat in our seats, awaiting re-entry, she was getting more and more anxious. Her skin was burning up and she said it felt like her heart was beating out of it's chest. I just held her, too choked up to say a word. I should have sung that song. It always calmed her down when she was anxious. But I couldn't. And her poor heart just couldn't handle it."

"The woman who-"

"Yes. That was my wife. I buried her two days ago."

"I'm so sorry. Did someone help you?" He smiled.

"I would have beat them off with a stick if they tried. I said no and I meant no. It was my job to do and I did it. It's alright, son. Don't look so miserable. We're old folks. I'll be joining her soon enough."

"I'm sorry she woke you up. My daughter, I mean. I didn't mean for anyone to-"

"She didn't. I'm deaf enough a little crying isn't likely to wake me." He teased. "Actually when I take my hearing aids out at night, I can't hear a damn thing. The alarm started going off yesterday morning and I sleep straight through it though it was only a few inches away from my head." He laughed. "No, I'm up to stretch my old joints, take a trip to the latrines, if you will." I nodded. "Try singing. Music calms the ladies down like nothing else. And if my experience is anything to count on, that goes double for ladies named Ophelia." He smiled down at my sniffling daughter and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Sleep well, Ophelia. I'm sure we'll see each other again." He nodded at me, and then as quickly as he'd appeared, Andre limped off towards the bathrooms. I turned back to my daughter and looked at her quivering lip.

"Okay, then. Let's see if I can remember those words." I took a deep breath and began.

"Oh, oh, when I was younger, oh, oh, should have known better

And I can't feel no remorse, and you don't feel nothing back

Oh, oh, got a new girlfriend, he feels like he's on top  
And I don't feel no remorse, and you can't see past my blinders

Oh, Ophelia, you've been on my mind girl since the flood  
Oh, Ophelia, heaven help a fool who falls in love

Oh, oh, got a little paycheck, you got big plans and you gotta move  
And I don't feel nothing at all  
And you can't feel nothing small

Honey I love you, that's all she wrote

Oh, Ophelia, you've been on my mind girl like a drug  
Oh, Ophelia, heaven help a fool who falls in love

Oh, Ophelia, you've been on my mind girl since the flood  
Oh, Ophelia, heaven help a fool who falls in love

Oh, Ophelia, you've been on my mind girl like a drug  
Oh, Ophelia, heaven help a fool who falls in love"


	21. Chapter 21

**Bellamy**

"We had a pair of twins, a few years back." Nyko muttered as he held my daughter in his hands, her arms crossed in front of her chest, reclined face forward as he swung her gently. She had stopped crying, and was blinking at all of us in turn, eyeing us up. "They always slept together. Every night. First time they were separated, David wouldn't stop hollering on. "They were a bit older by then, so there was more we could determine, using what little communication they'd mastered. If there's nothing medically wrong, then it's anxiety. Ophelia is Ezra's protector. And now he is gone. She is anxious. This pose, it calms them, babies, I mean. It should help. Also, the scent of lavender, or peppermint is calming. I can bring you some tomorrow, to hang about her crib. Otherwise, give her a stuffed animal to hold. Should calm her enough for the little girl to fall asleep." He passed her to me, showing me how to hold her like that and clapped me on the shoulder.

"Thank you Nyko." I replied, nodding in his direction. "I can't tell you..." He nodded kindly, and taking Genevieve's hand in his, they left the Med Bay. I brought Ophelia's head to my lips and kissed her softly. "Thank God you're all right." I told her as I made my way back to my cabin, hoping the pair of us might still manage a few hours of sleep tonight. "I'm never going to let anything bad happen to you, or your brother, so this anxiety can stop now, all right?"

"Here." A gruff voice grunted from behind me. I turned slowly to find Murphy thrusting a raggedy elephant shaped toy in my direction. "A few of us went to the Ark the other day, to collect supplies, and see what we could use. Found Bert."

"Bert." I questioned. Murphy just shrugged.

"My mom's. Left him for me when she died. Don't know why I brought him back, but Raven says she needs a stuffed animal or something." He commented, gesturing to Ophelia. "I got one for her. Here." He gestured again, telling me to take the animal, and after I sized him up, attempting to figure out his true motive here, he finally signed and shook his head. "Clarke was really good to me when I didn't deserve it. Gave me all kinds of second chances and made sure no one treated me like shit because of mistakes I'd made. Her kid needs a stuffed animal. I got one that I ain't using. Just take the damn thing Bellamy." Slowly, I reached out with the hand that wasn't rocking my daughter close to my chest and took the elephant. I cautiously lay Ophelia back in her crib, and set the elephant next to her.

"This is Bert, Ophelia. He's a friend of Uncle Murphy's, okay? You can watch over him while you sleep." She was already reaching for the toy, hugging it close to her like she did with her brother. Funnily enough, the elephant toy was approximately the same size as Ezra, and it was amusing to watch her let her eyelids drop closed, holding the battered, but clearly loved toy. I turned back to Murphy. "Thanks, man. Really. I appreciate it. I owe you one."

"Nah. Just paying back a favor." Without another word he turned on his heel and stalked out of my cabin. I pulled the crib with my sleeping daughter closer to my bed, and lay down, her face tilted up towards where I looked down at her. How had I lived without her? I let my own eyes close, and quickly, sleep claimed me.

* * *

 **Abby**

I didn't know what to make of Bellamy Blake; he was this amalgamation of mismatched parts. He'd shot the chancellor in cold blood. He'd broken the law countless times before that, protecting not only his mother and sister, which in itself was understandable, but also a myriad of other law breakers on the Ark for ration fraud, misuse of funded time, all kinds of misdemeanors. Then he's smuggled away down to Earth, to protect his sister. At which point he had tried to turn the entire group of delinquents against the Ark, and sabotage our experiment. Then he had helped to negotiate a treaty with the locals, saving the lives of his peers, as well as our own lives as we strove to land on Earth. But before that he'd destroyed the radio that could have made communication back to the Ark easier. Of course then he'd helped them turn their trackers into radios to contact us. And at some point in there, he'd gotten my daughter knocked up. I'd heard the stories, Clarke hadn't been his first Earthly conquest. But now... now I watched him protect her, look to her first, it almost seemed like he loved her. And he certainly loved his children. Which of course, he had encouraged my daughter to lie to me about. But last night, when I'd told him there was nothing to be done, he all but deployed a troop of people to go out and get help and he'd... he had sung to her. My heart was melting at the memory. All of my ideas about what a criminal, a man who'd shot the chancellor, a boy who had lied and cheated the government... they didn't seem to fit with a man who sang a song to his fussing infant in the middle of the night. He might not be the best fit for my daughter, but I couldn't deny that he was good for my grandkids. It looked like I was probably going to be stuck with him.

* * *

 **Clarke**

I hoped Bellamy was having a better night than I was. Ezra wouldn't stop fussing unless I was actively holding him against my chest. Despite the fact that I was desperate to have a good night sleep before working towards the treaty, I eventually gave up, and sort of slept sitting up, my baby boys head against my chest. I much rather would have fallen asleep with my head against Bellamy's chest. When I finally did fall into a light sleep, I dreamed of him, and I dreamed of them. I dreamed of introducing Bellamy to my father, of us pushing the twins on a pair of swings. I dreamed of Bellamy tackling me into the tall grass and kissing me gently, us laughing all the while.

I dreamed of happiness.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry this took me forever to update. I'm actually really stuck about where this should go. PLEASE send me some prompts/ideas or I'm gonna have to wrap this puppy up. THANKS to all who are reading and reviewing!**


	22. Chapter 22

**I am so dried up for ideas. Someone help me. PLEASEEEEE.**

 **BUT - I had to write this chapter anyway (even if it was like pulling teeth) because mariannewrgt** **said pretty please:) love you dear - thanks for reviewing on The Test!**

* * *

 **Kane**

With peace between the Grounders and our tribe reestablished, I could focus more heartily on the other thing that plagued my mind: Octavia Blake. These kids were... well most of them acted the way you'd expect a bunch on teenagers who had to step up and be responsible when they were exiled out of their own families and thrown down to the ground (literally, in a drop ship) to attempt to survive to act. They were fighters. They managed. They followed their new leaders and they learned what they could in an attempt to grow into adults. These three however, Octavia, Bellamy, and Clarke... they didn't fight to survive, they thrived. This was their element. They hadn't just stepped up that had grown into themselves and into adults far more caring, powerful, and deserving of that power than the Ark had seen in years. That alone was unsettling enough, but watching Octavia Blake, a girl who had been punished for being born, a girl who had been raised under the floorboards, turned warrior princess, badass extraordinaire, with a penchant for knives and a tall, quiet man who looked at her like she was the Earth.

That last part had been really creepy when I thought she was 14, but I knew that my opinions on the crimes and passions of children had only really had a place on the Ark, but the time of my power was over and I was more than happy to pass on the mantel. And if her brother was begrudgingly okay with it, we would all have to be. But then she told us that she was turning 18. An adult. I was supposed to be relieved at that information, that all sense of propriety hadn't been completely turned over on this new Earth, but how could I be? When I knew who had been in Aurora's bed 19 years earlier? When I knew that one of those two people, was me?

Aurora Maxx had been married to a factory station boy when she had just turned 18, and while no one was suffering any broken hearts over the idea that they wouldn't get to marry her, there were plenty of us who were wondering if it would be a happy marriage, or if she would seek comfort and physical support elsewhere. With her olive skin, dark hair, and searching eyes, Aurora Maxx, then Aurora Blake, was a beautiful woman, with a kind demeanor. Her son's birth, only 11 months after her wedding, disabused us all of the notion that she wasn't connecting well with her husband. That and how happy she looked all the time.

He had died, unclean air, I think. In fact that was one of the things that the factory herd had brought up when they were rioting years later, how the unclean air affected their lives more than any other station and how it wasn't fair we weren't fixing it when we were doing far more for those in first. It wasn't a bad point, but if they had gone about their business peacefully, if they had just brought this to the council, could all those riots, all those arrests and subsequent floatings, could they all have been avoided? Probably. But nothing would have changed politically. Not that it really did anyway. Guards were sent to protect those in factory, because neighbor was turning on neighbor and it was getting dangerous. After one woman fought back against an aggressor, she was floated for aggression herself, and the guards made sure we were always there, so that they didn't have to face the choice of being attacked, or protecting themselves and being floated. But that was besides the point. I found myself running into Aurora again. She was still kind, but there was a sadness in her eyes which hurt me to look at. I wanted nothing more than to take that sadness away. I knew she was sleeping with one of the other guards. They were sort of dating, and she loved that he protected Bellamy when he came to stay in her rooms at night, but she didn't love him. I knew she cared for me, and that there were true feelings, and I knew that if I could just convince her of it, we could be good together. She already had a son, and I knew we wouldn't be allowed a child, but I was getting older, and realizing that maybe that wasn't the end of the world, not to procreate. There were plenty of other ways I could pass on my legacy. And if one day, I adopted Bellamy, he could take my name. Maybe. Who knew? I romanced her, convinced that I was in love with the beautiful woman with kind eyes and a sad soul, I made her fall for me. We spoke of everything under the sun and I told her about my own parents, my mother, who had become unrecognizable when my father had died, and him. The man who raised me and taught me what kind of man I wanted to be. I was loosing that, by now, the need to get ahead, and to succeed in politics so that I could make an actual difference on the Ark, was outweighing his lessons.

I laughed now. Little did I see that the cutthroat politician I was becoming had deviated so harshly from the man who wanted to be in politics, to make the changes, to help others, that by the time I got to a level where I _could_ do something, I no longer found it important, and forced myself to believe that the greater good of humans was somehow more important than our humanity. I wouldn't make that mistake again.

Aurora understood though. And she was... she was different. I was charmed that she paid me so much attention, and I thought I was falling for her. One night we fell into her bed and I... We started having an affair, but I knew that she was still allowing that other guard, Michaels, into her bed too. He protected her son, and she didn't know how to turn him away at this point. She knew if she hurt him, or if he was angry at the change, that he would take it out on them and she would likely end up at the wrong end of the law. Michaels was my superior. There was no way I could protect her from him. She was hoping he would grow bored of her, and move on on his own. Meanwhile Aurora and I were seeing each other every chance we got. Not just... in bed... but I would bring my dinner over and eat with her, listening to Bellamy tell us about his classes, the new book I had brought him, his dream to see Earth in person, and his deepest desire to own a pet hippopotamus one day. I imagined that we were a family. I imagined that we were... but we weren't. And one day, after receiving a promotion to the judicial side of the guard, I hurried to Aurora. She was the first person I wanted to tell. She had looked at me curiously as I told her all. That I had been promoted, that I had more power now, that she could leave Michaels, because I was a judge, and I could ensure a fair trial for her.

And then she had told me she wasn't leaving Michaels. That she had decided it was best for Bellamy for her to stop seeing me, because he was getting too attached, and that she didn't want him thinking I'd be around forever. She told me she cared about me, and that she wanted me to have the chance at a real family, not a second hand one, and that she and Bellamy would only hurt my chances at any governmental position, because no one from the first few stations would vote for a guy married to a widow from factory. I told her I didn't care. That I loved her, but she said no.

She avoided me for years. I didn't see her again, until I heard about the child she'd had, and saw her testimony in my successor's court room. I watched her claim that the child was 15. I watched her claim that she had been sleeping with so many men at the time, she didn't know which one was the father and that none of them knew. I watched her sign a document saying that if she confessed to a litany of crimes, and went without a fuss, they wouldn't float Bellamy for knowing. She did it in an instant. She tried to get them to promise not to float Octavia, but the Judge said it wasn't for him to decide, and that when she came of age, a different judge would be in place, and that he shouldn't take the decision away from him. She sobbed. And avoided eye contact. And continued to do so even as they put her in the chamber, and floated her.

I never saw those brown eyes staring at me so intensely that I felt I couldn't breath, again. Not until They were doing so from the face of one, Octavia Blake.

So maybe she was mine. Maybe she was Michaels'. Maybe she was someone else's entirely, after all her testimony... no. I knew that was a lie, even then. I knew she wasn't like that, and that her testimony had been intended to protect whatever father there was. 50/50, Octavia was my daughter.

The girl in questions was currently making faces at her nephew, as she followed Clarke, practically skipping.

50/50 Octavia was my daughter, but 100%, I loved her.

What the hell was I supposed to do with that?

 **It's short because I don't know what to do. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE SEND ME IDEAS.**

 **xoxo - E**


	23. Chapter 23

**Thanks for the amazing feedback! Keep the ideas and prompts coming because I want to keep writing this regularly, but I don't have a lot of ideas for these peeps.**

* * *

 **Bellamy**

Laughing. My baby girl was laughing. I bounced her gently in my arms as she reached up for my face, wiping five spit-covered digits across my cheek. God she was cute.

"Guess what Ophelia?" I asked, my voice high pitched and ridiculous. "Your mom and brother are coming home tonight. Yes they are. Yes they are!" I was half thrilled because I missed Clarke and Ez more than I could admit... but also, everything was more exciting when you were telling a baby who had no idea what you were saying. She gurgled happily at me. God she was growing up so fast. They both were. She was so smart, so... she was far more squirmy than Ezra was, even more so than O, which was the only other baby I remembered for reference points. She was making sounds, and I doubted her first word would be far behind. She was already so strong, and I hoped to God she didn't want to be a warrior like Auntie O, because she'd be built for it. The anxiety of that alone, however, would kill me stone dead. She was amazing. She was just... amazing. A tiny miracle. One of the 3 best babies there ever was. Ophelia and Ezra were tied for first, and O took a VERY close second.

But hey, maybe if she'd have had a twin, she might have made it higher on the list but... alas. 2nd place. She'd have to be content with that.

"What are we going to ask mommy first, huh?" I asked "Are we going to ask her how the tribune went? Are we going to ask if Roan or Lexa were still hitting on her?" Ophelia giggled and I grinned. "No... we're not gonna do that. We already know the answer and it's of course! Because mommy is super hot!"

"And daddy is super weird!" A new voice chimed in, mimicking my 'baby voice' and I turned to see my sister grinning at me, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Just when I think you can't get any weirder, Bell, you go ahead and outdo yourself."

"O!" I greeted her, adjusting my daughter so I could wrap her in a hug. "How was the trip? All good?"

"Yeah!" She said, a little too enthusiastically. "Treaty went great, Roan actually liked Kane, which was weird but good, I guess, and things are all on schedule. The few people from Ice Nation who were a bit skeptical took one look at Ezra and stopped caring about politics." I laughed a bit but as it turned out, O was dead serious."

"I'm not kidding. They haven't had a new baby in about 6 years, and it was another 10 before that. They got _real_ excited about Ezzie, and a few of the Trikru moms brought out their kids and Ice Nation got all gooey. It was weird, but again, good weird. Unlike you. Your weirdness is not good. It's just weird." I tried to keep my eyes trained on O, I really, really did. I tried to be a good big brother and pay attention to her, and treat her like she was still the only important thing in my life. But every three seconds or so my eyes drifted to the door, and I clamped down on my jaw a bit harder every time Clarke and Ezra weren't there. Octavia rolled her eyes.

"Go you big weirdo, they're chilling by the biggest fire ring." I kissed my sister's forehead, much to her chagrin (but if causing your siblings grief wasn't the point of having brothers and sisters, I didn't know what was) and bounded towards the door. The fire was flaming brilliantly in the evening darkness and I had to blink a few times to acclimate. The next thing I knew a blonde goddess was bounding into my arms, almost tackling me to the ground.

"Bell!" She cried out before nestling her head in my chest. I gripped her tightly with the arm that wasn't holding Ophelia.

"Princess." I murmured, kissing her hair, her temple, her forehead... really anywhere that was within reach at this point. "You're home."

"Told you we'd be fine."

"Speaking of we," I said as she pulled back and stole Ophelia from my arms cooing and crying over her daughter. "Where is he?"

"I've got him, son." Marcus Kane stepped forward, grinning ear to ear, and carrying Ezra as if he were either the most precious artifact in the world, or a grenade. I wasn't sure which it was yet, but the care and delicacy in which he was handling him was amusing, to say the least. I brushed off the weird colloquial use of 'son' and took my actual son from his arms, cradling him softly.

"Jesus, Clarke. What were you feeding him?" I asked, smirking. "I swear he's grown."

"Bell." She replied, her brow furrowed and her eyes narrowing. "When did our child get to be so calm and not fussy? Why is she so chill? Did you drop her? I swear to God if you lie to me about-"

"Nah it's Burt."

"Burt?"

"Yeah, the elephant."

"It's the... what?"

"She was flipping out without Ezra, so Murphy donated his stuffed animal, that thing she's clutching, and now she's super zen."

"Murphy donated his stuffed animal. Bell there are so many things about that sentence that I don't understand."

"Ophelia got anxious. Started screaming. I tried to get your mom to help me but she-" I sighed. "She didn't know what was wrong. Some people ran out and brought Nyko in and he told us that sometimes when they're little twins get extreme separation anxiety and that she was just nervous about Ezra being gone. Murphy heard about it and brought over the stuffed animal he had when he was a kid." I nodded at the toy in Ophelia's embrace. "Burt." She nodded slowly, still bemused by the story.

"Okay." She said finally. "Thanks Murphy." She called out to him, gesturing down to Ophelia. Murphy just shrugged and went back to the book in his hands but I could see the hint of a smile flit across his face.

"What about Ezra? How did he do?"

"Well he wasn't screaming like Ophelia, just really fussy. I held him and we fell asleep like that. He was fine as long as he was resting on my chest."

"Good. I mean I'm sorry you had to sleep like that, but... I'm glad he didn't make a fuss and piss off the Grounders." Clarke smirked.

"Nope, the Grounders, as it turns out, are _big_ fans of babies. In fact, in an effort to remain diplomatic and keep in the Grounder's good graces, I'd say that as soon as these guys aren't babies anymore, we're going to have to pop out another one. You know. To keep the peace with Ice Nation." She insisted with mock sincerity. I grinned but before I could respond there was another voice in the mix.

"Clarke." Her mother's sharp tone was nothing but sincere. "You aren't serious."

"Oh my gosh no, mom. It's a joke." Abby shook her head, her lips pursed.

"It's not a particularly funny one. You made a mistake, fine, but you don't need to normalize the idea that you're going to have _more_ children by joking about it." Clarke frowned.

"The joke was that I'm not having children just to please Ice Nation's obsession with them, mom, not that I was ever going to have kids again. I might have more kids someday."

"Clarke, you already have two. That's more than anyone in our people's history."

"It's super not, actually mom." She replied sharply. "In case you've conveniently forgotten, Bellamy has a sister."

" _Conveniently forgotten_ , what is that supposed to mean?" Clarke passed off Ophelia to Raven and stepped forward to speak with her mom. I would have jumped in but Ezra had started fussing and it was all I could do to stop the tears.

"You seem to forget about Bellamy a lot, mom. When you talk about me and my future, in particular."

"I don't forget about him Clarke, you had _two_ children with him. Like it or not he'll be a part of your life forever, but-"

"Like it or not?!"

"-why is it so hard to factor anyone else into that equasion? It's like anytime I mention any plans for the future you just have to add Bellamy into them! Even when they don't apply to him! Why would it matter to Bellamy that you could take on an apprenticeship in one of the tribes on Earth Medicine?"

"Because he's a part of my life and any big decision affects him!"

"You have this whole village to raise a child thing going on down here. Don't tell me that other people wouldn't step up to help raise your kids when you were-"

"I WOULD TAKE MY KIDS WITH ME, MOM!" Clarke yelled, silencing any other conversation that was happening in camp. She took a deep breath and lowered her voice, by no means lessening the severity of anger in her tone. "I am _not_ just leaving my children behind to be raised by someone else so I can go off and learn from a different teacher. In case you weren't listening, the Grounders, _love_ kids. I could bring them with me and everything would be fine, and _God_ mom! I never even said I wanted to do that, I mentioned it because I thought _you_ might want to do that! Or Jackson!"

"So you don't want to continue your education?"

"I have no need to go somewhere for an apprenticeship, Lincoln and Nyko are here, like all the time. I've already been learning from them!"

"And if you wanted to treat people in the cities? If you wanted to go to Ton D.C. and help start the hospital they were talking about?"

"Then I would do that! _With_ my kids, and _with_ Bellamy. I don't understand why you're having an issue with this!"

"And how does Bellamy feel then, uprooting his life, and being away from his friends because you want to go somewhere else? Maybe Bellamy, doesn't want to always be there! He stayed here with Raven while you went off to the tribune! Are you two just going to keep swapping children all the time when you travel? Or does Raven have to travel along because Clarke can't get this idea out of her head that-"

"Mom. What the hell are you talking about? What does Raven have to do with anything?" Abby took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

"Clarke, I thought you might just figure this out on your own but apparently you need someone to tell you. Raven isn't with Finn anymore. And she spends all her time with Bellamy, and trying to be good with his kids, and I just don't think you're taking everything into account when you _demand_ that Bellamy be there with you and for you in every step of the future and that you think he's what, going to be your sperm donor going forward? Because you want more kids, and you want them to be full siblings. Well how do other people feel about that? I'd be if we asked Raven-" She had to stop talking then because Clarke had burst out into such uncontrollable laughter that was blocking out anything she may have been trying to say.

"Excuse me." Raven said stepping forward. "I'd like to make an announcement. I am in no way shape or form into Bellamy." She cleared her throat and shifted Ophelia in her arms. "It is true, I am no longer with Finn. It is true I have moved on. But _not_ with Blake, Abby. I'm seeing a grounder. And I spend so much time with these adorable little munchkins, because someone has to teach them to be brilliant, and no shade, Bell, that ain't you."

"Oh." Abby said stiffly. "Okay, well the point stands even if he isn't with Raven. Bellamy isn't just going to stay single and celibate his entire life because you have this image-"

"MOM!" Clarke interrupted, still grinning ear to ear. "Bellamy isn't sticking around because of the kids. We're together. I'm not sure how you aren't getting that but..." She glanced at Kane and he nodded slowly. "Okay we should have told you this already, but you were taking the kids news so well we didn't want to push it, and honestly at first it slipped our minds, with all the acid fog and shit, and then... well it's... no. There isn't an excuse. We should have told you this. Bellamy and I got married. Grounder ceremony. About a week before you guys came down. Even without the kids... we're in love, and we're going to be together." Abby's eyes bulged and her jaw fell open a bit, wordlessly staring at Clarke. Before either of them could say another word, however, a siren cut through the silence, and a voice in the distance called out.

"Fire!"


	24. Chapter 24

**Clarke**

A siren rang out startling everyone, but before we could react, a single word rang out, piercing my soul.

"Fire!" My eyes met Bellamy's and we both were instantly in 'take charge' mode.

"Raven-" He began, his eyes searching out another person who could protect our children.

"I've got him." Wells said, stepping forward.

"Thanks." The babies safely in the arms of people who loved them and would protect them, I directed them into the Rover, telling them to get the kids out of the smoke. They took Charlotte and a few of the youngest kids with and Bell and I bounded towards the dull orange flickering that was growing. Two of the cabins had caught fire, thick, black smoke clouding the crisp morning sky.

"Anyone under the age of 15 needs to retreat back." Bellamy called out over the hubbub. Go to the river. Start pailing water. 15 to 18s, follow them keep your eye on them, and transport the water back here. Any able bodied men, after me!" He bounded off towards our still water supply. I spun around to find my mother's eyes wide, though I doubted the fire was the only thing she was freaking out about.

"Mom. Back to MedBay with Jackson and anyone else you've been training. We don't know if anyone is in there, but even if the fire goes out successfully, we'll need to oxygenate those in the thick of it."

"Clarke," She choked out.

"MOM, GO!" Jackson appeared out of nowhere and dragged my mom off towards our MedBay. Thank God for actual adults around here.

"You should go, Clarke, with Raven and Wells."

"I'm not leaving your side."

"You're still breastfeeding. I think smoke inhalation-"

"I think you need to shut up and think again before you say shit like that."

"You know I-"

"You're just worried, I know." I gripped his arm. "But we're both fine. O and the kids, all fine. Let's go worry about the people who may not be, yeah?" We arrived at the fire to find one hut already fully engulfed in flames, and the two on either side having caught on in the sudden blaze. In no more than two minutes Bellamy had finished delegating tasks to all, and we were fully fighting the blaze. Monty and Jasper were taking a counting of everyone the could find, using Raven and Wells to drive out to our outer regions and into Polis to account for every single Arkadian, just to make sure. It was a precaution at this point. Everyone from the original bunk house had been accounted for, and the sirens and calls of fire would have prompted anyone in the side houses out long before they had actually fully caught. There wouldn't be any people in there at this point, but still, I wanted to be 100% sure that we new where everyone was just now. I kept glancing around, waiting for one of them to come running back and update us on our sudden census, but I knew I had to stop being so distracted and work alongside everyone else, focusing on putting out this blaze. Bell wouldn't let me anywhere near the actual fire, of course. My job was to tell people when they had to back off, take a break, or go to MedBay. For the most part they listened. It helped that dozens of Grounder tribes had seen the black smoke and had rushed to our aid, allowing our people to sub in and out when necessary. Bellamy obviously didn't feel it was ever necessary for him, and I knew better than to press my case just now. If this lasted much longer I would make him, but for now... he wasn't right next to the fire or smoke anyway. His command was further back in the lines, overseeing everyone and yelling out instructions from his vantage point. I glanced at my father's watch. In 30 minutes I'd get some of the Grounders to force him back for more oxygen. 30 minutes. And not a second later. Octavia would have done the same, but the second time I told her she needed to back off for a few moments, Lincoln had physically dragged her away. Oddly enough, Kane had also been tirelessly fighting the flames without reprieve. He really was the wild card of the old council. I never knew what to expect from him. I had urged him away twice now, but he had waved me off both times and told me he was fine, though he had allowed me to send someone over with some water for him to drink.

We were three hours into fighting the blaze, the hut to the right of the original home was entirely extinguished, the first house, now lying mostly in ash, was likely unsalvageable, but with little fuel left for the fire, it was also mostly extinguished at this point. The left hut was the only structure still actively on fire, and with all of our forces focused on it, it too would soon be put out.

"We think we have everyone!" Monty called out over the sounds of a blazing fire and hundreds of people trying to put it out, running up to me and grabbing my arm.

"You think?" I yelled back, growing more irate by the second.

"Yeah. We're short 5 in exact numbers, but a group went out on a hike an hour or so before the fire started. Jasper's cross checking our name lists now to see which five."

"Who saw the hiking group go out?"

"A whole bunch of people. One of them swears it was only four..." He trailed off, flushing a little. "Okay, Murphy swears it was only four cause he remembers thinking that they way they were furtively looking around, they were probably heading out into the woods to go swinging, but everyone else says four or five. One person even thought six, so once we get the names we can make that determination, and try to find them specifically."

"Do we have any idea who they were?"

"Murphy recognized a couple from second that he used to nick stuff from, The Pearsons. They glared at him when they left which is how he was sure. Everyone else just remembers seeing some people in hiking cloths with small pack and some water rations heading out in that time frame." I frowned. I knew the Pearsons. They were... ugh. Annoying on the Ark, and annoying now. They were definitely some of the group who resented Bellamy in a leadership position and who encouraged Jaha to take power again. Not that it would stick, and not that they had the intelligence to lead such a campaign, but they annoyed me. It was really no wonder Murphy used to steal from them. They had always flaunted their possessions. Knowing Murphy, it would have been hard to resist such obvious targets when he was starving, or trying to provide for his mom. "It's definitely not any of the hundred. They're all accounted for, and people are saying late twenties to late thirties in estimation the hikers ages." I shouldn't have been relieved. We were worried about all the Arkadians, not just the original 100 but... I admittedly felt just a bit more responsible for 'my kids' as Jasper liked to call them.

"Okay. Let Bell know as soon as you know the names too." I called back. "He'll want to know and it'll give me a good excuse to make him take a break." I smirked at him.

"You got it boss," Monty said with a laugh. A group of rested Arkadians came back to me, ready for tap out assignments as soon as Monty walked away. I pointed out the few I had seen lagging, and a few who had been in too long. I noticed that Octavia had slipped back into the mix, closer to the fire than before, a maniacal look in her eyes. God but that girl was made to be on Earth. I couldn't imagine her half this happy, effective, or just... I couldn't imagine her on the Ark at all. Even if she hadn't been persecuted for being a second child, she was so obviously meant to be an Earthling, and not floating on a metal box in space. I'd keep my eye on her, but Bell had been around the smoke far longer, as had Kane, so I had bigger fish to fry at this point. Oh. Cooking reference. Maybe not the right tone just now.

A sudden burst of flames made me jump back and I heard more than a few screams. The fire in the last house must have hit something very flammable, as the fire surged on, stronger than it had been just moments before. God, I had to get Bell and Kane away for a bit. This smoke was growing thicker by the second. My eyes saw Lincoln looking around anxiously, presumably for Octavia and I thought back to the realization I'd had days earlier. If Kane didn't know he might be Octavia's dad... well either way, he wanted to be helpful, and I had come up with a way for him to be very helpful... away from the flames.

"Kane!" I called out running up to him.

"I'm fine, Clarke!" He called back. Don't worry about me! I want to help-"

"I know. I need your help somewhere else!"

"What?" He called back, his brow furrowed as he tried to hear me over the din. I pointed to Octavia.

"She keeps sneaking back to the front lines and refusing to give up her spot. I need you to literally drag her out of here, and guard her. She keeps giving Lincoln the slip." Knowing Lincoln he was trying to help in the MedBay and keep his eyes on Octavia at the same time and to be honest, Octavia was a full time job. He glanced at Octavia and back to me.

"Why?"

"Why? Because she-"

"No, why me? Why not-"

"Because you need a break too! My mother will kill me if I let you get a heart attack from all this damned smoke!"

"And you?"

"You're closer to the smoke. And I'm in charge. So you don't actually have a choice. Go." He looked like he was about to protest and then with a sigh, handed his bucket off and ran over to Octavia, arguing with her for a few moments before waving over Lincoln and teaming up on her to physically restrain her and drag her off. Jasper came running up to me triumphantly waving some paper.

"I've got the names, Clarke!" He called out. Excellent timing. I ran over to Bell, and grabbing onto him, I dragged him back towards MedBay, where the air was still slightly clear. He tried to disguise his coughing but I heard him loud and clear, even as he attempted to muffle the sound in his sleeve.

"That's it. You need more oxygen and water before I let you go back."

"Clarke, they need-"

"MILLER." I yelled out. "YOU AND YOUR DAD ARE IN CHARGE. GO." The pair of them hurried off to where Bellamy had just come from and picked up where he had left off.

"They were resting and getting oxygen too, Clarke. You didn't need to force them back into the thick of-"

"That was their 5th rest. I'll send someone to relieve them in a few moments. But I will not let you hurt yourself because you feel responsible."

"I am responsible. For all of them."

"Yes. Which means you can delegate when equally important tasks come up."

"What could possibly-"

"Jasper and Monty have the list of missing people."

"THERE ARE PEOPLE MISSING?!" He roared, turning back towards the flames, ready to run off.

"Relax dynamo." Jasper cut in. "A whole bunch of people saw them head out on a hike, we just wanted to check the names. Only 5 not present and accounted for."

"Who?" He demanded tersely, still glancing anxiously at the burning building.

"You can relax, you know." I cut in. "Medically speaking, it would smell like a roast if there were people in there."

"What?"

"If there were people in those huts, burning alive or stuck behind the flames right now, we would for one thing, hear them screaming for help, and for another, it would smell like a meat roast."

"That's..."

"Disgusting. I know. But its a pervasive smell. It doesn't take much burning flesh to overpower regular fire smells. We'd know. So it's fine." He didn't seem very convinced by that, but he let Jasper continue to speak."

"Murphy was right, both Emerald and Liv Pearson are not accounted for, and along with them, Clyd Kelly, Robyn Rummage, and Andre Fitzgerald."

"I know Clyd and Robyn. Sort of. Know of them, anyway. I think they're friends with the Pearsons."

"And Fitzgerald?"

"Remind me his first name again? It sounds sort of familiar. Probably a part of that group too."

"Andre." Jasper said, glancing at the sheet of paper. "Andre Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald sounds like a first station name, you sure you don't know-"

"Andre." Bell inhaled sharply. "I know him."

"Oh. Cool. So let's send some people out into the woods looking. Actually, that may be a good task to keep Kane and Octavia away from the fire and still feel-"

"Andre lives in that bunk." Bellamy interjected, grabbing my arm.

"No, everyone in that bunk house was accounted for ages ago. Jasper? You said-"

"The bunk that's still on fire, Clarke."

"But that was the last one to catch. Everyone had evacuated to the sirens and yelling, Bell. Someone even went in and checked. He's probably out with the-"

"He's 80 years old Clarke, he's not out hiking. And..." Bellamy blanched. "During the practice signal... he said he had slept through the fire drill. He was laughing about how deaf he is without his hearing aids in. If he was sleeping-" No. No there couldn't be someone in there. It had been evacuated. Someone had checked!

"Jasper. Go ask everyone if they've seen Andre. Maybe he's in MedBay, or one of the other buildings, or... just find him. And Monty, go find whoever it was you said checked all the beds on their way out of that bunk. NOW!"

"Murphy!" The boy came running at the sound of panic in Bell's voice. "I'm calling in that favor." Bell growled lowly.

"What do you need?"

"Don't let her follow me." He said sharply. "Keep her safe. Keep her safe for me."

"What? Bell what are you talking ab-" His lips pressed into mine briefly and it took me a few moments after he had pulled away for my eyes to focus enough in the settling haze to see what he was doing. It took the same amount of time for Murphy to wrap his arms around me and trap me against his body.

"Murphy! What are you- wait... what is he... Bell!" I screamed out, fear flooding my veins. "BELL, NO!" It was the last coherent thing I managed to scream before my husband disappeared into the flaming doorway of the last burning hut.

* * *

 **A/N: I promise I'm going to write as fast as I can to update this soon! xoxo - E**


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been a million years since I posted! I promise I'm going to wrap this up soon so you don't have to keep waiting for me!**

* * *

 **Miller**

It took three of us to hold Clarke back. Murphy had wrapped Clarke up from behind, holding her tightly against his chest, doing his best to reassure her that everything was going to be fine, that Bell would be out in just a minute. I had body blocked her from the front, and she was craning her neck over my shoulder to see everything that was going on. Nyko was holding her arms down for us, because the moment she realized what Bellamy had done she had nearly clawed Murphy's eyes out in an attempt to get past him. His face was dripping blood, and it fell on Clarke, staining her hair, her shoulders, everywhere. I knew I was going to have bruises from where she had kicked and hit me, and Murphy was favoring his ribs where she had elbowed him. Nyko served a very important purpose here: keeping Clarke from killing us in an attempt to get to Bellamy.

But even that had nothing on Octavia when she found out her brother had run into the flames. She fought four freaking Grounders and got past them. Two of them were being taken to Abby, she had hurt them so badly. The others were on their knees, reaching for her, but clearly in no shape to keep her from her goal. She had made a run for it, and I had really thought she was going to follow Bellamy to his - sorry Clarke - very likely death at this point. It wasn't until Kane outright tackled her to the ground, and Lincoln and another man I didn't know pilled on top, making it literally impossible for her to get up that she stopped fighting and just started sobbing instead. Lincoln was crooning to her in Trigedisleng and Kane was... petting her hair. Okay that was a bad description because she looked a fair bit more comforted by his actions than that phrase would suggest. Their screams were more haunting than the sounds of fires burning, or the sirens blaring. That and the knowledge that one of my best friends was probably about to die, leaving his wife, and two young children without him.

God today was a fucking shit show.

"Miller." Clarke sobbed. "Miller please, we have to go get him. We have to help him. Please. Please let me go."

"Your kids need you Clarke. I can't let you go in there."

"Don't. Don't say it like that. Like they need me cause they don't have Bell. They have him. They need _him,_ Miller, please, please we have to-"

"We can't let you go in there, Clarke."

"He can't die Miller, please!" She screamed and cried for a minute more and my heart sank as no sign of Bellamy appeared. The seconds moved like hours and I held Clarke all the tighter waiting for the realization to hit her. It took a few minutes more but eventually, she let out a wail, unlike anything I had ever heard and her legs fell out from under her. Murphy pulled her around and hugged her, holding her up off the ground as she sobbed into his shoulder, screaming out Bellamy's name. God damn him. What the hell was he thinking? I felt a drop of water run down my cheek and I realized I was crying. God dammit, Bellamy. We couldn't do this without him!

I sank down to my knees, exhausted, and distraught, unsure of how the world could change so much in so short a time.

"Clarke!" Murphy hollered suddenly. "Clarke look!" I followed the direction of his pointing finger and turned back towards the blaze, where, emerging from the billowing black smoke, carrying something large, was Bellamy Blake.

That asshole. Clarke was out of Murphy's arms before he could stop her and she was one of the first to reach him. A few grounders took the man in Bellamy's arms from him, hurrying him off in the direction of the MedBay, and Clarke instantly wrapped herself around him.

"I'm gonna kill him for scaring us like that." I said to no one in particular.

"Always has to be the hero." Murphy replied, trying to sound grumpier than he was. "Come on. Lets go hug the bastard." As it was, no one but Clarke was going to get that close to Bellamy for the time being. The pair of them clung to each other, Clarke sobbing, Bellamy kissing her hair, her checks, the tears off her face, murmuring comfortingly into her ear. The only thing that finally made him unwrap one of his arms from Clarke was his sister, hurtling into him too. With one of his girls under each arm, he gimped away, letting her lead them towards the MedBay, followed by half a hundred people.

They only got halfway to the Bay when Bell faltered. His face twisted a bit, as if he had tasted something terrible.

"Bell?" Octavia asked, her brow furrowing. "What's wrong?"

"I... I..." He inhaled sharply and clutched his chest, his cheeks flushing a deep red, suddenly sinking to his knees.

"No." I heard Clarke scream. "MILLER!" She screeched. "GET MY MOM." I raced off and all but pulled Dr Griffin off another patient without saying a word. She clearly trusted me enough to follow my lead, and allowed me to drag her back towards the group amassed around where Bellamy had fallen to his knees. I didn't know what was going on, but I knew enough to trust the panic that had been in Clarke's voice. We pushed through the crowd and made it to his side just in time to see Clarke using every ounce of strength she had, pounding up and down on his chest, giving his lifeless body CPR.

"Oh my God, Clarke." Dr. Griffin sunk to her knees beside her daughter. "What happened?"

"Smoke inhalation. Heart attack." Clarke breathed out between beats. "I... Mom I don't know how to save him." She was panting now, sweat rolling down her cheeks. "Please. You have to save him."


	26. Chapter 26

**Clarke**

"Don't you dare leave me, Bellamy Blake." I sobbed the words out, clutching his hand to my chest. "Don't you dare." Octavia sat in silence on his other side, tears streaming down her cheeks, like me, clutching his hand to her, like me, but she was the dark mirror to me, not just in looks but in her present countenance. She was silent where I loudly wept. Where I was desperate, still begging for his life, she sat, already planning how best to get vengeance for his death, something I could see sat firmly in her eyes as what was about to become reality. She had already resigned herself to it, all that was left for her was for it to occur, for her to lose her last link to her early family. Her father, no where to be found. Her mother floated. And now her brother. Dying.

But not dead. Not yet. She shook her head. "No." Clarke muttered. "No. I won't let you. I won't let you leave me. I won't let you leave any of us." I looked around me and looked for... something. What I did not know. But something or someone here could help me save him. My mother and Jackson, trading off CPR, but his heart... his heart had stopped and nothing we were doing could get it started again. I browsed the crowd looking for that elusive thing, that thing that would put it all together. My eyes stuck twice on a guard from the Ark. I didn't know him. But I knew his equipment. Hell, I had been shocked with one of those sticks myself when I was arrested. A shock. Like a defibrillator. I stood and ran to him. I reached for it, but he evaded my grasp.

"What are you doing?" He asked, clearly alarmed.

"Give me your stick." I snarled. "Now."

"What? Why?"

"No time to explain. Give it to me, or I'll take it from you."

"Kid-" before he could get another word out, three of my fighters moved on him. Ready to do as I commanded, without understanding why. But even that didn't matter. I had already swiped his legs out from under him and dug my heel into his chest, reaching down to grab the stick.

"Mom!" I called out, running back to her.

"Good thinking Clarke." She said. "You'll have to amp it up somehow. Past the normal settings. If that works, remember..."

"It's gonna hurt him like hell. I know. But hurt like hell trumps dead." I looked around me again. I needed a way to super charge the device. "The Rover."

"They're too far away, Clarke." Murphy said, shaking his head. "By the time we get there and back,"

"Not that one. The one that wont run. Raven used it to jump the main car last month. And all I need is the battery." Miller had taken off before the words left my mouth. We had been performing CPR for over 10 minutes now. The prognosis... it was growing more and more dim with every passing second. Miller and a few others who had followed him, had ripped the battery out and all but threw it at my feet. My fingers couldn't attach the right cables, but a Grounder, one Raven had been teaching in exchange for... - I wasn't sure exactly, but did it really matter right now? - attached them where they needed to go. I took the charged baton in my hand, and I knelt before Bellamy, refusing to fixate on exactly how lifeless he seemed.

"Come back to me, my love." I whispered, holding the baton aloft, ready to deliver the charge. "Clear." I called out loudly, prompting everyone to cease touching his person. I pressed the baton against his heart and turned it on. Bellamy's entire torso rose from the ground with the shock, but his eyes remained closed. My mother checked his pulse.

"Again." She commanded with the confidence of a person who had revived more people than she could remember to count in her career.

"Don't Clarke. Don't torture his body." Octavia suddenly cut in, her eyes begging me. "He's gone. He's dead."

"No Octavia. Not yet."

"Clarke." She whimpered. "This isn't going to work. He's been dead nearly 20 minutes. Not even you can raise the dead." I snarled in response.

"Watch me."

* * *

 **Epilogue**

"Don't run too fast, Ophelia!" Bellamy called out after our daughter before turning to me. "Teaching them to walk was a bad plan. We should have just told them they were incapable of walking. Carried them everywhere."

"She's with Octavia. Your sister isn't about to let anything happen to her niece."

"Not on purpose, no, but do you have any idea how many accidents can happen on Earth?!"

"You worry too much, Bell."

"You worry too little!" He was wrong of course. I was even more worried about Ophelia than he was. The fact that Ezra still held my hand was the only thing keeping my heart from bursting in fear. The fact that Bell was standing beside me, well and pacing around like a frantic idiot, that kept me upright. I worried about all of them, all the time. I worried about everyone who passed through my MedBay. I worried about each and every one of the 100. I worried about my Arkadians. I worried about the Grounders. I worried about each and every member of the tribes. I worried... always.

"Ezra. Would you like to go with your sister?" He shook his little head.

"Too fast."

"See? At least we have one sensible child."

"What if Uncle Murphy took you on a ride in the Rover?" I asked.

"Though apparently my wife has gone mad." Bell added, his eyes widened. Ezra ran off and tugged on Murphy's sleeve. The older boy's eyes lit up and he glanced at me for approval. I nodded and smiled, taking Bell's hand and pulling him away from the others. "I have to tell you something, Bell." I told him, cutting him off as he sputtered, trying to ask me what I was thinking. "Come on." I took his hand and led him through the woods, ignoring his constant questions. We hurried for nearly 20 minutes before finally reaching my destination. Lincoln's cave.

"A cave. You have to tell me something about a cave."

"Not just any cave. A cave that is very important in our history."

"Is it?"

"This is where Nyko and Lincoln saved Ophelia and Ezra." He looked up and his eyes traced the entryway.

"Hmm." He said, as if trying to decide if that was a good memory or not.

"It's where you found out about them too, if I recall correctly."

"It is." He allowed, actually smiling.

"So I thought it fitting."

"What is fitting?" He asked with a grin.

"That you find this out here."

"What? What are you talking about Clarke?" I took his hand and pulled it to my stomach, unable to keep the smile from my lips.

"Ophelia and Ezra are going to have one of the biggest families on Earth." I told him. "Even among the grounders, two children are a lot. But three, three is unheard of."

"Yes." He commented, staring into my eyes, trying to determine my words before I spelled it out too exactly for him.

"But I think we can manage."

"Are you asking if we should-" He began, a grin spreading across his face.

"I'm afraid I'm a bit late for that, Bell. Lincoln confirmed this morning. I'm pregnant."

* * *

 **Author's Note: See. I told you I'd update soon! Thank you all so much for sticking with me throughout this crazy journey. I love you all so much and I can't tell you how much I appreciate your reviews, follows, love and support! You're all the best! Well? Tell me what you thought of this conclusion of Nameless!**

 **xoxo - E**


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